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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



ALETHAURION 



( SHORT PAPERS FOR THE PEOPLE. ) 



THOMAS C. MOORE, 

A. M. T. S. D. 



Sed quo sis, Africane, alacrior ad tutandam Rempublicam, sic habeto : omnibus qui 
patriam ( ecclesiam ) conservarint, adiuverint, auxerint, certum esse in coelo definitum 
locum ifbi beati aevo sempiterno fruantur. Nibil est enim illi principi Deo, qui om- 
nem bunc mundum regit, quod quidem in terris fiat, acceptius quam concilia coetus- 
que bominum iure sociati, quae civitates appellantur : barum rectores et conservatores 
bine profecti buc revertuntur. Cicero. De rep. iv. 13. 




LEAVENWORTH, KAN.: 

KETCHESON & HUBBELL, PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 
1883. 




TO THE MEMOEY OF 

Rt. Rev. GEORGE A. CARRELL, D. D., 
First Bishop of Covington, 
This work is affectionately dedicated by 
THE AUTHOR. 




Copyrighted 1882 
By THOMAS C. MOORE. 



All rights reserved. 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter. • Page. 

I. The Church 5 

II. The Church more ancient than the New Testament 10 

III. The Constitution of the Church 16 

IV. The body of the Church 22 

V. The body of the Church, how organized 28 

VI. The Hierarchy 33 

VII. The Seven Deacons 39 

VIII. How to find the true Church 43 

IX. Catholic unity — Sectarian divisions 47 

X. All Catholics believe alike 51 

XI. The true Church is holy 55 

XII. Holiness a mark of the true Church 59 

XIII. Holiness a mark of the true Church 64 

XIV. Catholicity a mark of the true Church 69 

XV. Catholicity a mark of the true Church 73 

XVI. About names 78 

XVII. About names 82 

XVIII. About names 87 

XIX. About names 92 

XX. About names ' 96 

XXI. Apostolicity 10O 

XXII. Simon Magus 103 

XXIII. The rise and fall of Simon Magus 107 

XXIV. The errors of Simon Magus 112 

XXV. The followers of Simon Magus 117 

XXVI. Basilides 121 

XXVII. Cerinthus 127 

XXVIII. The Millennium 132 

XXIX. The Millennium 136 

XXX. Ebion and Necholaus 140 

XXXI. The Virgin Mary 144 

XXXII. Simon Peter 148. 

XXXIII. The public life of St. Peter 152: 

XXXIV. The public life of St. Peter 156. 

XXXV. The trial 160 

XXXVI. Ananias and Saphira 164 

XXXVII. Tabitha 168 

XXXVIII. Cornelius 172 

XXXIX. Herod 176 

XL. The triumphal entry of the Word into Babylon ]80 

XLI. The Scrimmage 183 

XLII. Fossils : 187 

XLIII. Liberius 190 



ii 



CONTENTS. 



Chapter. Page. 

XLIV. Babylon I9;i 

XLV. Babylon the mystic 19G 

XL VI. Hugo de Groot 200 

XLVII. Clement 204 

XLVIII. Ignatius 208 

XLIX. Let loose the lions 212 

L. Papias 216 

LI. Caius 220 

LII. Bacchus 224 

LUI. Dionysius '. 228 

LIV. Ireneus 232 

LV. Footprints 236 

LVI. Tracks ■ 240 

LVII. Landmarks • 24?. 

LVIII. Saul 246 

LIX. St. Paul 248 

LX. Flight in a basket 252 

LXI. The Wanderer 256 

LXII. Saul's ordination 259 

LXIII. Concerning magic 263 

LXIV. Necromancy 266 

LXV. Charms 270 

LXVI. Enchantments 275 

LXVII. Miracles 278 

LXVII1. Miracles . 282 

LXIX. Miracles £ 286 

LXX. Miracles 290 

LXXI. Miracles 294 

LXXII. Apparitions...'. 298 

LXXIII. Theophany 303 

LXXIV. The Angels 306 

LXXV. The Devil 310 

LXXVI. Concerning Hell 316 

LXXVII. Concerning Hell 320 

LXXVIII. Hell -its location 325 

LXXIX. The punishment of the damned 329 

LXXX. Dante's poetical Hell , 334 

LXXXI. Dante's poetical Hell 338 

LXXXII. Hell's torments are eternal 343 

LXXXIII. Answers to some of the objections against the eternity of punish- 
ment 347 

LXXXIV. Where unbaptized infants go after death 352 

LXXXV. Concerning Purgatory 356 

LXXXVI. The resurrection of the body 362 

LXXX VII. The character and qualities of the body after having arisen from 

the dead 367 

LXXXVIII. Divination, or Fortune telling 372 

LXXXIX. Oracles 376 

XC. On the subject of dreams 380 

XCI. Concerning those that are possessed or beseiged by the Devil 385 

XCII. Animal magnetism 390 

XCIII. Paul and the Island of Cyprus 395 

XCIV. St. Paul preaches at Iconium and Derbe 401 

XCV. The Council of Jerusalem 405 

XCVI. Bird's eye view of the General Councils 409 

XCVII. Bird's eye view of the General Councils 413 



CONTENTS. iii 

Chapter. Page 

XCVIII. Bird's eye view of the General Councils 419 

XC1X. Bird's eye view of the General Councils 422 

C. St. Paul visits the Churches of Syria and Cilicia— he carries the 

good tidings into Macedonia 426 

CI. St. Paul at Thessalonica and Berea 430 

CII. St. Paul at Athens 434 

CIII. St. Paul at Corinth 438 

CIV. St. Paul at Ephesus 443 

CV. Diana of the Ephesians 447 

CVI. Societies 451 

CVII. St. Paul leaves Ephesus — the Church of the twelve farmers 456 

CVIII. More about the Church of the twelve farmers 460 

CIX. Each Apostle preached a greater number of specific truths than he 

committed to writing 464 

CX. The Written Word alone is not a sufficient guide to lead one to 

Heaven 467 

CXI. Whether any one who has read the Bible and thinks he under- 
stands it, can lawfully profess himself a minister of Christ and 

a dispenser of the mysteries of God 437 

CXII. Some speculations regarding the extent to which a layman is a 

minister of Christ, and a dispenser of the mysteries of God 478 

CXIII. St. Paul at Jerusalem for the last time 482 

CXIV. Secret Societies and kindred subjects 486 

CXV. St. Paul at Coesarea 491 

CXVI. St. Paul enters Rome — his death 494 

CXVII. Synoptical view of the lives of the Apostles 498 

CXVIII. The prerogatives of the Church 503 

CXIX. Indefectibility of the Church 508 

CXX. A changeable element in the Church 512 

CXXI. A changeable element in the Church 517 

CXXII. Some changes in the mode of public worship 522 

CXXIII. The use of Latin in the public worship 527 

CXXIV. The use of sacred vestments in the public worship 531 

CXXV. Description of a Camp Meeting 535 

CXXVI. The infallibility of the Church 540 

CXXVII. Some objections proposed and answered 545 

CXXVIII. The Church is the guardian of revelation 551 

CXXIX. The infallibility of the Pope , 560 



PREFACE. 



In presenting this volume to the public, it may be proper to state 
the cause to which it mainly owes an existence. For half a dozen, 
or more, of the earlier years of my life, I happened to live in a com- 
munity that was almost exclusively non-Catholic. And, as religion 
seemed to be a favorite topic for discussion, at all times, I had two 
ways open before me. One, to remain silent, whenever a question 
of the kind was introduced ; the other, to defend, to the best of my 
ability, that system of belief with which I felt myself identified. I 
usually chose the latter ; for it seemed to me the better course. But, 
while searching for suitable arms, with which to fight those intellect- 
ual, and, indeed, almost invariably, friendly battles, I experienced 
some difficulty. I read works explanatory of the faith, and some 
that were controversial. Yet, I was not entirely satisfied with either, 
for the authors seemed to have addressed themselves to theologians, 
rather than to such as myself. The consequence was that, after 
having picked and shoveled my way through not a few of such books, 
I felt weary of the subject; I was like David in Saul's armor, 
incapable of quick action, and, indeed, scarcely able to move under 
such a weight of erudition. It then occurred to me that, if I could 
secure some lighter and sharper weapons, it would be well. I wished 
for a book that would interest, to such a degree that it could be read 
without a strain on the mind ; one whose narrative and arguments . 
would be strong, but not stilted ; trenchant, but not murderous ; 
witty, but not uncharitable. With this object in view, I began, in 
the year 1873, to publish, through the columns of the Catholic Advo- 
cate, the series of essays included in this volume. But as I advanced, 



Preface. 



I found my task-not so easy as I had imagined. What to select, 
and what to leave behind, in moth-eaten tomes, was not always clear 
to my mind. The style of writing was also a source of anxiety. It 
occurred to me that some might find fault with the attempt to clothe 
grave subjects in a light and airy dress. And, indeed, to do so, and 
say nothing offensive to pious ears, was one of the main barriers I 
had to surmount. But, with all this, through the encouragement of 
some friends, on whose judgment and literary taste I placed a high 
estimate, I persevered. And now, in January, 1883, ten years after 
the first was written, these essays are given into the hands of the 
publishers, to be put into book form, and sent forth into an arena, 
where only what is fit can have the least hope to survive. 

THOS. C. MOORE. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE CHURCH. 

The word church is said to be a compound of the Greek, 
kurios, a lord, and oikos, a house. By uniting these, and 
making the changes required by the laws of euphony, we 
get kuriakon. The Scotchman took hold of this, and, not 
being able to surmount the difficulty of pronunciation, 
snapped it off at "kirk." The Englishman tried the same 
feat, and, in the attempt to get over, let his tongue drop, 
and flattened the word into "church." Hence, if we look 
to its derivation, the expression means the House of God ; 
any of those material edifices in which the faithful are 
accustomed to meet, in order to pray, and assist at the 
great sacrifice of the new law. The word, however, has 
another signification, and it is to this we desire to draw 
attention. It means the society, established on earth by 
Christ, to preserve and propagate those doctrines He 
wishes men to know and believe. 

Now, there are persons who deny that Christ founded 
any organized society. With these, to be a Christian, 
means nothing more than to believe in Christ, read the 
Bible, and practice its teachings. To belong to any visible 
organization, they say, is a matter of indifference. This 
idea, or something akin to it, appears to be afloat in the 
minds of most of the non-Catholics of this country. Even 
among those who belong to the various sectarian conven- 
ticles, it will be found that the majority acknowledge a dis- 



6 



ALETHAU EION . 



tinctiou between the teaching of their church and Christi- 
anity. They will sometimes say, we believe ours is the best 
way, but we do not deny, we freely admit, that persons 
belonging to other churches may also be saved. It requires 
not deny, we freely admit that persons belonging to 
other churches may also be saved. It requires only a little 
reflection to see that such modes of thought and expression 
come from the idea alluded to that all Churches are of men, 
and none co-extensive with Christianity. The idea seems to 
be that a man may be a first-rate Christian gentleman and 
not belong to any Church. To illustrate the conception that 
many Protestants have of the Church, we may use the fol- 
lowing example : There is attached to a certain parish Church 
in Blank City a benevolent society, whose name we will not 
mention. John Smith, a good and consistent Catholic of 
the same parish, is asked to join. He persistently refuses 
to do so, on the ground that it is enough for him to obey the 
general laws of the Church, and that he can, on his own 
hook, as the saying goes, perform acts of benevolence, with- 
out being a member. The idea that Smith has of the be- 
nevolent society, is that held by most Protestants of Church 
organizations, i. e., it may be good to belong to one, but 
not at all essential to man's happiness either here or here- 
after. Hence the facility with which they transfer them- 
selves from one Church to another. And in this they are 
consistent, for, on the principle that no Church is co-exten- 
sive with Christianity, and none essential, the right of 
choosing looks rational ; and change from one to another 
does not differ from the action of a man at a menagerie, who, 
instead of gazing the whole day at the lion or grizzly, takes 
a peep at all — including the baboon. 

Let us now lay down one or two Catholic principles, and 
meditate briefly on them, < if we would soar above such 
vagaries. 



ALETHAURION. 



7 



First, It is a truth that Christ established here, on earth, 
a Church as a regularly organized society. This society is, so 
to speak, a continuation of the incarnation, and does now 
what the Saviour did while he was among men, i. e. teach the 
way of salvation. 

Second, It is a principle that the teaching of the Church 
is co-extensive with that of Christ ; all He taught, she teach- 
es, where He was silent, she is. 

Let us see whether these assumptions correspond with 
facts. 

Did Christ establish a Church? That He did so, may be 
shown in two ways : 

First. Because a society exists at the present day, the 
members of which claim Him as its founder. It will be 
readily understood that allusion is made to the Catholic 
Church, alongside of which, every other sinks into insignifi- 
cance. It forms a network that surrounds the globe ; its 
members are found in every zone ; and its influence extends 
from pole to pole. Nor is it less worthy our consideration 
from the magnitude of its proportions than from its perfect 
organization. It has but one visible head on earth to whose 
authority all submit. Its superior officers are found in every 
land. Its subaltern, in almost every hamlet in the civilized 
world. Its members are counted by millions of the most 
enlightened and refined of the human race. 

So wonderful is this great organization that, after meditat- 
ing on its vast proportions and variety of action, a thought- 
ful infidel once exclaimed : "If there is such a being as the 
devil his ingenuity must have been taxed to the utmost 
when he planned the Catholic Church." 

We, who are blessed with the light of faith, see in all 
this the finger and wisdom of God and we say that such or- 
der could never have come from the father of lies. Such, 
then, is the fact, patent to the eyes of all. We have in the 
world a society, wonderful as a whole, equally so in all its 
parts. 



8 



ALETHAUKION. 



Now there is no effect without a cause. When did this 
society begin, and who was the prime mover? It certainly 
came not into existence to-day nor yesterday. Its influence 
has been felt and acknowledged in the world for eighteen 
centuries, and if we wish to lay hand on its founder we will 
search the pages of history in vain till we go back to Jesus 
of Nazareth . 

The same conclusion at which we arrive, from a consider- 
ation of the Church as it stands at present, we will also be 
forced to admit, after having examined the earliest records 
of the rise and progress of Christianity. If we take the New 
Testament, merely as a history, we will find ample proofs 
therein, showing that the Saviour established a Church in 
form of a regularly organized society. 

We read in the sacred writings that He called twelve men 
to aid Him in carrying out the great scheme of man's re- 
demption. He charges these to go and teach all nations 
what they had heard from Himself. We behold this little 
society growing with marked rapidity till, within half a cen- 
tury after the Saviour's ascension, His name became a house- 
hold word throughout the Roman Empire. 

Now comes the question : Was there any subordination 
between those original Disciples? or was each independent 
or at liberty to follow such views as might have been most 
pleasing to his individual self ? A great English poet has 
said, wisely and well, that 

Order is Heaven's first law, and this confessed. 
Some are and must be greater than the rest. 

In all the works of God we have evidence of order. This 
globe on which we live is proof enough without going fur- 
ther ; there is not a particle of it but tends to a common 
center. Even in the works of intelligent men we notice the 
same principle. In each country there is always some one 
person whose jurisdiction is admitted to be above all others. 

If this were not so mankind would soon become a mere 



ALETHAUKION. 



9 



herd. Hence, from the nature of the case, and by compari- 
son with the other works of God, we are naturally disposed 
to look for the precedence of some one over the rest of the 
Apostles and Disciples. 

The scriptures bear testimony showing, that what each 
rational man thinks ought to have been done, is what in re- 
ality was done. Hence, wherever the Apostles are spoken 
of Peter is mentioned first and Judas last. This is impor- 
tant to be observed, for it shows the evangelists acknowl- 
edged the supremacy of Peter, otherwise they would not upon 
all occasions have put his name at the head of the list. Be- 
sides we read in the xvi chapter of St. Matthew's gospel , words 
addressed to the Apostle in question which clearly shows a 
primacy : "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build 
my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against 
it." Peter is the rock on which the Church is built, and 
as the foundation is that which principally gives solidity to a 
building, so Peter was chosen as the Apostle who was to 
give strength to the future spiritual edifice. 

So, also, in the xvi chapter of St. John's gospel, Peter 
receives the commission to feed the sheep and lambs of the 
flock. By feeding we may understand ruling and teaching, 
for such is the force of the word in the orio-inal. From all 
this it will be seen that, in the twelve Apostles, we have a 
perfect image of the Church teaching, even as it is now. 
We have a Pope in the person of Peter, and bishops in the 
persons of the other Apostles. And, on the day of Pentecost, 
when the three thousand were converted to the faith, we 
have the Church teaching, and the Church taught, as at pres- 
ent. 

Hence, whether we begin with our times, and trace Chris- 
tianity up the stream, or begin with Christ and sail down 
the current, the conclusion must be that Christ established 
a Church as a regularly organized society ; and, furthermore, 
that the Church established by Him is identical with that 
of which Pius IX is to-day the acknowledged Visible head. 



10 



ALETHAURION . 



Now, the sects claim Christ as the founder of their sev- 
eral Churches just as we do. But, when asked for proofs, 
they proceed by different ways to establish their claims ; 
some of them, as for example the Episcopalians, pretend to 
have apostolic succession through the Catholic Church, be- 
fore the time of the reformation ; others, such as the Bap- 
tists, pretend to be able to trace themselves up to the time 
of the Apostles through the various primitive and medieval 
heretical sects ; others again, such as the Campbellites, care 
nothing for apostolic succession, just as the fox that lost his 
tail in a steel trap cared nothing for such an appendage ; 
yet, they also claim Christ as the founder of their Church, 
on the ground that they believe what He taught. 

The claims of these various sects we will ventilate more 
freely in future articles. But, from the tenacity with 
which the members of each sect claim Christ as the found- 
er of their society, we are warranted in saying that the be- 
lief that He established a Church here upon earth, is one of 
those points upon which nearly all agree ; though, as was 
said at the beginning, the ideas of most non-Catholics in 
this country, are misty and uncertain on the subject. In 
the next we will show that the Church of Christ was organ- 
ized and in full working order, before a word of the New 
Testament was written. 



CHAPTEE II. 



THE CHURCH MORE ANCIENT THAN THE NEW TESTAMENT. 

Whether the Church of Christ was organized and per- 
fected before the scriptures of the New Testament were 
written, is a question of fact, and must be treated like oth- 
ers of its kind. Thus, when one wishes to know which is 
the more ancient, as an historical personage, Julius Caesar 



ALETHAUKION. 



11 



or Alexander the Great, all he has to do is to get a his- 
tory and, if he knows how to read, he will soon find out. It 
is much the same as regards the relative claims to antiquity 
of the Church and the New Testament. 

The Church, as was said in a previous article, began to 
exist on the feast of Pentecost, fifty days after the Saviour's 
death ; though its teaching portion had already been organ- 
ized, with the Apostle Peter as visible head. But, for 
present purposes, it will be sufficient to go back only as far 
as Pentecost. Now, that we have determined when the 
Church began, let us next take up the New Testament, and 
see what history sjiys of it. This done, there will be no 
further need of logic ; and all that remain will be a few 
easy sophisms, partly from infidel and partly from heretical 
sources. 

On opening the New Testament, the first portion thereof 
that meets the eye is the gospel of St. Matthew, so called 
from the name of its author. Matthew, before having been 
called to be an Apostle, was a publican, or collector of the 
state revenues. This office was considered honorable among 
the Romans ; but, to a Jew, the profession and looks of a 
publican were detestable. The notorious infidel Renan, says, 
with apparent satisfaction, in his "Life of Jesus," that 
Matthew was an officer of inferior grade. This observa- 
tion was, no doubt, made to show that he did not resign 
much, when he left his post and its duties, to follow Christ 
and preach His gospel. 

Matthew is the first of the Saviour's followers who com- 
mitted any portion of His teachings to writings. Papias, 
Origen and Irenius, writers of the first and second centu- 
ries, as also Eusebius, the father of Church history, tell us 
that he wrote in modern Hebrew, or Syro-Chaldaic, the 
language spoken at that time by the Jews. The original 
text has been lost ; the oldest copy extant being in the an- 
cient Greek. As regards the date of its first publication, 
it is sufficient to observe that none of the Fathers make it 



12 



ALETHAURION. 



earlier than the year 41, that is eight years after our Lord's 
ascension. 

Here, then, we have the Church in existence, and under 
full sail, for eight years before one word of the New Tes- 
tament had been written. The Apostles and its other bish- 
ops preached the gospel, baptized, changed the bread and 
wine into the body and blood of Christ, and annointed the 
sick with oil before any one thought of taking up the pen. 
Hundreds believed, confessed their sins, did penance, and 
departed this life in peace without having had an opportuni- 
ty of practicing that hobby doctrine of modern sectarians 
— bible reading. 

We might drop the question just here, for enough has been 
said to establish all we undertook to prove. But the nature 
of the subject tempts us to go farther and give a brief view 
of other parts of the gospel along with some contemporary 
facts. 

Eight years after Matthew, and consequently sixteen af- 
ter the Saviour's ascension, Mark wrote his gospel. 

Eusebius, in the second book of his Church history, tells 
us that he undertook it at the request of the faithful of 
Kome. The Romans wished to have in writing a part at 
least of what they had heard orally from Peter. 

Mark was not an Apostle, nor is it certain that he was an 
immediate disciple of the Saviour. The probability is that 
he was converted to the faith after the ascension. Yet, the 
fidelity of his writing has never been questioned, because af- 
ter his gospel had been written it received the approval of 
Peter, of whom Mark was a disciple and follower. 

The Church of Alexandria, jn Egypt, that remained for 
centuries in so flourishing a condition, and gave us so many 
eminent not only for sanctity but also for learning, was 
founded by him. After a ministry of nineteen years he 
suffered martyrdom and was buried in that city for whose 
spiritual welfare he had so long and so earnestly labored. 
In the beginning of the fourth century, a church was built 



ALETHAURtON. 



13 



over the spot where he was buried and his relics placed un- 
der the principal altar, where they remained till about the 
middle of the eighth when they were taken to Venice. 

The Venetians also claim they have the original manu- 
script of Mark's gospel, but so injured by time that not even 
a single letter can be distinguished. 

The third of the gospels, in the order given, is that of 
Luke. This evangelist was born in Antioch, and was, be- 
fore his conversion, a physician. Having embraced Chris- 
tianity, he did not abandon the healing art but still practiced, 
though in a higher sphere, and agreeably to the teaching of 
Christ, the great physician of our souls. He was the com- 
panion of Paul in most of his voyages and labors ; but after 
the death of the great Apostle, little is known with certainty, 
of his subsequent career ; nor has the name of the place nor 
the. time and manner of his death been handed down. Luke 
wrote his gospel in the year 53, twenty after the Saviour's 
ascension, and the Acts of the Apostles ten years later. 

Let us now advert to the fourth and last of the gospels, 
which is that of John, the Disciple so beloved by the Saviour. 
It was to him that He entrusted His Blessed Mother on the 
summit of Calvary before He closed His eyes and slept. John 
is the only one of the Apostles that lived to see the end of 
the first century. All the others had, long before, fallen 
victims to their zeal and gone to drink anew the fruit of the 
vine with Christ in the Kingdom of His Father. It is be- 
lieved that he lived at Ephesus and governed the Church in 
that city till about the year 104. He wrote his gospel in 
the year 96, sixty-three after the ascension. 

It would take us too far from the main question to go into 
details regarding the periods at which other portions of 
the New Testament were written. Let it suffice to say that 
none save the book of Revelations, is of more recent date 
than the gospel of St. John, and none earlier than that of 
St. Matthew. Let it be remembered then, that it was not 



14 



ALETHAUEION. 



till the sixty-fourth year after our Lord's ascension, that 
all the books of the New Testament had been written. 

A little meditation on these facts and figures will not only 
convince us that the Church is more ancient than the New 
Testament, but also teach the important lesson that to it 
was confided the task of keeping pure and of propagating 
the religion of Christ. This lesson has never been rightly 
studied nor learnt by the heretics of any age, and hence 
their mouthings about reading the bible. 

Furthermore, let it be observed, that though all the 
books of the New Testament were completed within a pe- 
riod of sixty-four years after the ascension, still, it was not 
till some time later on, they were collected into one vol- 
ume. Had there not been the Church during that period, 
to teach men the way of . salvation, how few would have 
heard of the Babe of Bethlehem, or of the victim of Calva- 
ry : and how still fewer would have been able, in the multi- 
tude of conflicting opinions, to determine exactly what the 
Saviour wished men to believe. 

Before dismissing these questions regarding the written 
word, it may be asked, whether Christ wrote anything. 
Almost any one, whose mind is not a blank, would readily 
answer in the negative. They mean He wrote no part of 
the New Testament ; and thus far the answer is correct. 
Yet, though not generally known, there was quite a contro- 
versy among the learned, regarding the genuinity of a cer- 
tain letter, which He is said to have written, with His own 
hand, to Abgarus, King of Edessa. The circumstances of 
the case are about as follows : 

Abgarus, having heard of Christ and of His great mira- 
cles, sent one of his servants into Judea with a letter, in 
which he requested to be delivered from an infirmity under 
which he was laboring. The letter also contained a profes- 
sion of faith in the divinity of Christ. 

"When I heard of the great works performed by Thee," says the King, 
"I thought that one of two things imist be true : either Thou art God 



ALETHAURION. 



15 



descended on earth from the highest place in Heaven, or Thou art the Son 
of God, because of the splendid miracles which Thou dost perform." 

In another portion of this letter he invites the Saviour to 
come and live in his dominions. 

"I have heard, 1 ' says he, "all Thou hast done and what Thou hast suf- 
fered from the reprobate and ungrateful Jews ; come, therefore, hither 
and make Thy home in our midst/' 

Eusebius, the historian in book I, chapter XIII, gives us 

this letter as an authentic document, and tells us, moreover, 

that he found it in the archives of Edessa, and did himself 

translate it from the Syraic into Greek. In the same book 

and chapter he gives the Saviour's answer. Cheist praises 

the faith of Abgarus in these words : 

" O, Abgarus, blessed art thou, who without seeing, hast believed in me ; 
for of me it is written, that those who have seen did not believe; that 
they who have not seen may believe and have eternal life." 

Further on, He promises to send one of Hrs Apostles to 

Edessa, to preach the gospel and rectify whatever might be 

amiss. 

The genuinity of both of those letters has been among 
learned men, a matter of contention. Those who deny their 
authenticity say, that it is unreasonable to think that a docu- 
ment written by the Saviour Himself, should have been for- 
gotten till late in the fourth century. 

The others reply that this is no more strange than that the 
cross itself, on which He died, should have remained so 
till the time of the Empress Helena ; and besides, that 
after the death of Abgarus, to whom the letter was sent, 
His successors had not the same faith in Christ, and took 
not the same interest in His letter ; hence it remained for- 
gotten in the archives. 

Again, one party says, if the letter of Christ had been 
genuine, it would have been put with the inspired writings ; 
but, on the contrary, Pope Gelasius, when forming the 
catalogue of inspired books, rejected it as not authentic. 

The other answers, it is not certain that Pope Gelasius is 
author of the catalogue that bears his name. Moreover, say 



16 



ALETHAURION. 



they, scripture is scripture, not so much because of its au- 
thor, as by reason of the authority of the Church which 
determines the question of its inspiration. 

Then again says the first party, how does it happen that 
both letters were found at Edessa ? One at least ought to 
have been in Judea, where Christ lived. 

This could very easily have happened, answers the other. 
Christ could have given the king's letter to the courier, 
along with His own answer, and thus both would naturally 
have been found at Edessa. 

We shall not pursue this question farther ; though several 
other reasons are given for and against its authenticity. 
Catholic theologians at the present day, regard the letters as 
not genuine, and explain what Eusebius, St. Ephrem and 
others of the ancient fathers have said on the subject, by 
saying they were deceived by some scribe who counterfeited 
both letters and wished to have them pass as genuine. 

In the next chapter we will speak on the constitution of 
the Church, and while so doing will attempt to define who 
its members are, and what is to be thought of the prospects 
in the next life of those who will not enter the true fold in 
this. 



CHAPTER III. 



THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH 

In previous chapters we demonstrated the two important 
principles ; that the Saviour established a Church ; and, that 
this was done before the New Testament was written. We 
also spoke, in general terms, of the progress of Christianity, 
and of the vast proportions it had assumed, even before the 
end of the first century. 

There is surely a temptation to dwell on such thoughts ; 
the same we experience on beholding, for the first time, a 



ALETHAUEION. 



17 



magnificent palace, or the peaks of a lofty and majestic 
mountain. The mind feels it has something worthy its con- 
templation, and expands, to grasp the entire grandeur of 
its object. 

But there are few who can take in so much at a glance ; 
and, when gazing at, or meditating on things colossal, either 
in the physical or moral order, we instinctively feel the need 
of more extended faculties. Hence, it is only by taking one 
part at a time, and observing how perfectly it answers its 
purposes, and how well it harmonizes w T ith the whole, that 
we can form anything like an adequate idea of the wisdom 
displayed in the formation of the Church. 

Let us meditate on its constitution, and determine who 
its members are. 

The Church has been compared to a city, situated on a 
hill, that cannot be hidden ; it has been likened to a ship, 
set afloat on the sea, tossed about by the winds and waves ; 
but with its prow ever pointed towards the heavenly Jerusa- 
lem, and in no danger of being submerged, till it shall have 
passed to the golden gates of the celestial city, and laid its 
cargo before the throne of God. 

It is not, however, under any of these appropriate but 
highly poetical similitudes we wish to speak of it in the 
present chapter, but rather as an organic society, or moral 
person. 

Now, it is a truth of the faith that we profess, a motive 
which lies at the foundation of each religious act we per- 
form, that, along with these bodies of ours that will soon 
return to dust, each one has a soul that will never die. It 
is thus, also, with the Church. It has a soul and body, 
united in a mysterious way, and acting, one upon the other, 
in a manner similar to those two component parts of each 
individual man. 

Some theologians have gone so far as to call the Church a 
continuation of the incarnation ; by which is meant that 
Christ wished to leave in it a perfect image of Himself ; so 



18 



ALETHAURION. 



that He may be said to live and converse with us, even after 
His visible ascension into heaven. This idea, properly 
understood, is consistent with sound doctrine. But we must 
not lose sight of the truth, that the individuality of Christ 
is distinct from that of the moral person we call the Church. 

With these observations, let us proceed a step farther, and 
deline what we mean by its soul and body ; for, on the 
proper understanding of terms will depend, in a great meas- 
ure, the gaining of a true conception of any question. 

By the soul of the Church, we mean sanctifying grace ; 
by which men are intimately united with God ; and by aid 
of which they may bring forth fruit worthy of the Christian 
name. Faith, hope, charity and those admirable gifts, be- 
stowed upon men of heroic sanctity, may also be included. 
Now, as the soul that is within us, enlivens the mortal por- 
tion of our being, so does sanctifying grace, and the virtues 
and gifts spoken of, vivify the body of the Church ; and 
hence, writers on theology have very appropriately called 
them its soul. 

This- division of the Church into soul and body, is one 
whose propriety most sectarians willingly admit. Some 
even maintain, that the Church of Christ is all soul and no 
body. The reason for such an opinion will become evident, 
when we reflect on the difficulty met with in answering the 
question : where was Protestantism before Luther? 

If he who attempts the solution, is a man of parts he 
knows it will not do to admit it had no being. To say that 
it existed in the sects, excommunicated before Luther's 
time, would be going too low, and would not help, even if 
one should descend so far. Hence the necessity of either 
admitting that the Catholic Church represented Christianity 
till the sixteenth century, or, of having recourse to the idea 
of an inorganic and invisible Church, composed of all who 
lived piously and justly from the days of the Apostles to the 
date of the so-called Reformation. 

We do not mean to say that this notion of an invisible 



ALETHAURION. 



19 



Church is held by all sectarians, for they have as many dif- 
ferent theories as they have heads. It serves as a means of 
escape when pressed by such questions as the one we have 
given, and expresses well what we understand by the soul of 
the Church in the concrete, of which all and only the just are 
members. 

By the just, we do not mean the predestined, but all who 
are free from the guilt of mortal sin. We must carefully 
distinguish between the two classes of persons ; for, if the 
word predestined were substituted for just in the proposition 
given above, it would be as unsound and heretical as any that 
Luther ever wrote. 

To illustrate our meaning more fully, let us take an ex- 
ample. We have in this country, at the present day, two 
sects : the one called the Presbyterian, and the other the 
Hard-Shell Baptist Church. Now, these two are peculiar. 
They hold what are called Calvinistic doctrines ; one of 
which is, that the Church of Christ, on earth, is made up 
entirely of the predestined ; and that, when a man becomes 
once the friend of God, or, as they say, "gets religion," 
and joins the Church, he is safe for all time, and for eter- 
nity ; because he cannot sin any more. 

But experience seems, often, to contradict the assumption. 
Thus, it sometimes happens that a member of the Church 
gets caught and convicted of theft, or gets into the State's 
prison for illicit distilling. When his brethren are asked to 
arise and explain how one of the elect got into such an in- 
eligible place, they readily answer, that their fallen brother 
was either never truly converted, or, if so, the crime of 
theft is by no means imputed to him by the Saviour. 

Secular judges do not always understand such nice and 
subtile points of Calvinistic theology, and the consequence 
is, that sometimes a Church member to whom the Lord has 
imputed no sin goes to the gallows for what the unregene- 
rate are pleased to term the crime of murder. 

But it is not alone the secular judges that find difficulty 



20 



ALETHAURION. 



in distinguishing between the elect and the reprobate. The 
Presbyterians and Hard-Shells themselves freely admit that 
it is no easy matter to tell when a man is really and truly 
converted, or in other words "gets religion for good." 

The following, however, may be taken as a case about 
which there can be no two ways of thinking : 

Some few years ago, whilst a resident of the town of S., 
the court-house bell one evening began to chime forth with 
a vehemence that left no doubt that something of import- 
ance was then going on, or else about to be commenced. 
The ringing we took to be a call for a proposed railroad 
meeting, and curiosity directed our foot-steps to the scene 
of action. We found on arriving not a railroad, but a religious 
meeting in progress. A tall, extremely pious-looking man 
dressed in black but having on a white neck-tie, stood where 
the judge generally sits in court-houses. His eyes were 
raised in prayer, and the whites were glassy from gazing so 
long in one direction. It was mid-summer and the doors 
stood wide open, so we thought we would wait outside and 
see what was to come. After some prefatory remarks, the 
preacher gave his hearers an account of the manner of his 
conversion, as nearly as we can remember, in the following 
words : 

"I was" said he, " in my youth very wild and inconsiderate, resisting 
like Saul, the grace of the Lord, and refusing to bend my stubborn neck 
to the sweet yoke of Jesus. Finally one day at a camp-meeting I heard 
a very powerful sermon on the wickedness and propensity to evil of the 
human heart, which so convicted me of sin, that I fell down where I stood 
with my face to the earth. I sank my fingers into the loose clay and 
tore it up like an ox. I cried out in the presence of all that I was a filthy 
sinner, I halloed to the Lord for mercy, I rolled over, I cried like an 
infant and I kicked. When they raised me up" said he, "I felt I was a 
changed man, and ever since then I have had no misgiving on the cer- 
tainty of my calling and election to glory." 

No doubt. 

We have introduced this case in order to give some idea 
of what a member of the Church is, or ought to be, according 



ALETHAURION. 



21 



to Calvinistic notions. He must be one of the elect, a man 
whose salvation is a fixed and unalterable fact. 

This doctrine may appear to the casual observer similar to 
that held by us regarding the soul of the Church, but on 
closer examination it will be found totally different. Not 
all the elect belong to the soul of the Church, for some, 
though predestined to eternal life, may now be in sin ; so too, 
not all who belong to the soul of the Church are predestined, 
for some, though at present in a state of grace may fall into 
sin and never rise therefrom. 

To one who understands all that has been said respecting 
the soul of the Church, the question naturally suggests it- 
self : May not many Protestants be members of it, and.thus 
be in the way of salvation, even though they may not belong 
to the body or visible portion ? 

In reply, we say first of all, that we have no interest 
whatever in trying to keep Protestants or any one else out 
of heaven. We believe that in our Heavenly Father's 
house there are mansions enough for us all. Yet, the in- 
terest of truth obliges us to say, that, in our opinion, the 
number of those who belong to the soul of the Church, and 
are not members of its body, are few. Yet there may be 
some, but God alone knows who they are. 

We have heard persons say : "Well, Protestants believe 
they are right, just as we do." Now, even granting that 
such is the case, what follows? That they will be saved? 

By no means . Catholics , one and all believe and know they 
are right and yet, only those who observe the moral law will 
be saved. Protestants are bound to observe the moral law 
just as Catholics are ; they are men subject to and sur- 
rounded by the same temptations and dangers that we have 
to guard against. But they have not the same means of 
vanquishing the enemy. The Catholic, after having fallen, 
being still a member of the body of the Church, has the ad- 
vantage of the Sacraments, those medicines left by Christ 
to cure the sickly soul. The other has only an undefined 



22 



ALETHAURION. 



and vague trust in the mercies of the Saviour. The Catho- 
lic, on his death-bed, is visited by his spiritual physician 
who exhorts him to repent and pronounces over him, by the 
authority of Christ, words of absolution. He is made par- 
taker of that bread which came down from heaven, of 
which, says the Saviour, he that eats shall live forever. He 
is annointed with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer 
of faith is said over him, which we are told will save the 
sick man. The other has none of these advantages, though 
during life, he has had the same temptations. 

Let Catholics not undervalue the favors God has confer- 
red upon them in making them members of His Church, nor 
blaspheme the efficacy of the Sacraments instituted by 
Cheist for man's salvation by saying that heaven maybe 
gained as easily without as with them. 

Let them not stultify themselves by giving sectarians to 
understand that they will be saved outside as well as inside 
the visible Church. For, if that be true, millions have 
shed their blood in vain ; and the teachings of all the truly 
good and wise for eighteen centuries are falsehoods. Above 
all let Catholic parents show their appreciation of God's fa- 
vors to themselves by giving their children a Christian edu- 
cation. In the next chapter we will speak of the body of 
the Church 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE BODY OF THE CHURCH. 

In our last, we considered what is to be understood by 
the soul of the Church, and touched on the question regard- 
ing the character of those who belong to it. In the present 
we confine our remarks to what is taught, and ought to be 
known of its body. 

By the body is here meant the external or visible portion ; 



ALETHAUKION. 



23 



which, for the better understanding of what follows, we may 
define, in the words of the illustrious Bosuet, as "a society 
of men, sojourners in the world and professing the true 
doctrine of Christ." 

This definition was given in the conference with M. Claude, 
and is one that cannot be objected to by any who admit a 
visible Church. We accept it for the present, though a little 
farther on we will take the liberty of giving another, more 
specific. 

With this idea, let us advance a step, and inquire who are 
the members of the body of the Church. As hinted in a 
previous chapter, there is under this heading much loose 
thought and uncertainty among sectarians. The writer has 
found even Catholics, living in out of the way places, who 
spoke in strange and uncouth, not to say heretical terms, 
about church membership. Such a style of speaking, 
whether from ignorance or affectation, is highly improper, 
and should be avoided. 

We shall not attempt to define the conditions required for 
membership by the various sects, scattered over the country. 
For, though it might amuse the reader to do so, it would be 
tedious to a writer. Let it suffice to lay down what the 
Catholic Church teaches on the subject, and this, rightly 
understood, will be a criterion by which to judge of the 
various grades of deformity in the teaching of the sects. 

Should the question be asked : Who are members of the 
Church in the Catholic acceptation of the phrase ? We reply 
in general terms : 

They are all persons who have received Christian baptism. 
Now baptism may be validly conferred by any one, whether 
believer or infidel, who has the proper intention, and uses the 
prescribed form and matter in the administration of it. 
Hence, not only we, who admit the jurisdiction of the Pope, 
are members of the Catholic Church, but all schismatics and 
baptized heretics belong to it. 

By keeping this view of the case before the eye, one 



24 



ALETHAURION . 



catches the force and meaning of the words lately used by 
the Holy Father, in his letter to the Emperor of Germany, 
in which allusion is made to the fact that all baptized per- 
sons belong, in a certain sense, to the Pope. 

The writer has heard bishops use the same language with 
regard to the Protestants within their jurisdictions. But 
to most Catholics such language sounds paradoxical. They 
naturally ask : Does the bishop mean to say these Protest- 
ants are members of his flock ? 

We reply, that is what is meant. And, that we may not 
be misunderstood, some principles need be laid down and 
explained. 

First of all, let it be remembered, that Heaven recognizes 
only one Church on earth. All others are delusions, mir- 
ages of Satan, that have no reality. The Church to which 
we allude is the Catholic — the Kingdom of Christ upon 
earth. Men become citizens of it being born again of water 
and of the Holy Ghost ; and, when once their names are 
registered, they can never more leave the kingdom, for it is 
co-extensive with the world. 

"Ask of me," says holy David, speaking in the person of the Eternal 
Father, to His only begotten Son, "and I w ill give Thee the nations as Thy 
inheritance, and Thy possessions the limits of the earth." — [Ps. ii. v. 

Neither is it possible for a citizen of this kingdom to 
transfer his allegiance to any other sovereign ; for there is 
no other to whom it can be lawfully given. Hence, he may 
become rebellious, but does not cease to be a subject. 

Now, St. Paul tells us there is one baptism, and this is 
the one and only entrance to the kingdom of Christ, and, 
since this gate can be thrown open by any one, hence it hap- 
pens that thousands enter the Catholic Church, without be- 
ing aware of the fact. 

The Methodist preacher baptizes a man, the Campbellite 
dips a believer in the stream — the one believes he has initiated 
his subject into the Methodist Church, the other thinks he 
has made a Reformer of his. Both are mistaken, for their 



ALETHAUBION. 



25 



men, by baptism, enter the one and only Church to which 
the sacrament gives initiation. 

Baptism is the door that leads into the Catholic Church, 
and, when one goes through it, he is in the Church, whether 
he likes it or not. And, after he is once in, he can never 
come out, for he cannot unbaptize himself, nor remove the 
character impressed on his soul. This is why we do not re- 
baptize the sectarians that join us. They are already in the 
Church, and ail we require of them is to admit the authority, 
and be guided by the counsel of its rulers. 

By keeping these facts in mind, it will be readily under- 
stood how all schismatics and heretics belong to the Pope. 
But, some one may say, if all such are members of the 
Catholic Church, why are they not treated as brethren in the 
faith? 

The reason is, because they are in rebellion against the 
lawfully constituted authority. Hence we do not admit their 
fellowship, nor call them members, except in the sense al- 
ready explained. 

Before proceeding further, we may observe that, just here, 
comes in the question of conscience and good faith. 

There may be sectarians who are not aware that they are 
in rebellion against Christ. Such persons, in good faith, 
will be saved, if they observe the morallaw, and act accord- 
ing to the light that is given. The fact that they stand on the 
side of the rebellious will not be imputed, for sin pre-sup- 
poses a knowledge of its evil, and a will to commit it not- 
withstanding. 

Without presuming to say whether the number of per- 
sons who belong to the sects, and are in good faith, be great 
or small, we take occasion to remark that their chances for sal- 
vation are slender, for they have not the aid of the Sacra- 
ments, and when the soul becomes sick by sin, they have 
neither the physicians nor the medicines to help along 
recovery. 

Let us now proceed a step and define what we mean by 



26 



ALETHATJRION. 



the Church in the limited and ordinary acceptation of the 
term. The true Church may be denned in the following 
words, or in others of similar import : 

An assembly of men, sojourners in the world who believe 
in Christ, participate of the Sacraments instituted by Him, 
live subject to legitimate pastors, and more especially to the 
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ upon earth. 

By this definition we exclude at once all schismatics and 
heretics of every grade. It will also now be seen how a 
member of this body may be cut off or excommunicated. 
Such persons do not cease being subject to legitimate pas- 
tors but are separated from the flock, lest, by their evil in- 
fluence, they may be led astray. 

In chapter III, speaking of the soul of the Church, we said 
that all and only the just belonged to it. Of the body on 
the other hand, sinners as well as the saints are full and recog- 
nized members. 

This important truth was denied in ancient times by a 
sect called the Novations, who maintained that as soon as a 
man had sinned, he ceased to belong even to the body of 
the Church. John Wickliffe, the English heresiarch, 
taught pretty much the same doctrine. But we take occa- 
sion to state, once for all, that, when speaking of heretics 
we can rarely, if ever, say, without qualification, that one 
taught as another did. 

A heretic is a man that chooses for himself what he wishes 
to believe ; and, as the wishes of no two men are alike, or, 
if they are, will never remain long so, hence the differences 
in the opinions of those who will not listen to authoritative 
teaching. Revelation to a heretic is like a wax nose that be- 
comes aquiline or pug as he pleases. 

We have said that all the faithful, whether saints or sin- 
ners, belong to the body of the Church. That such is the 
case, may be seen by adverting to a few passages of scripture. 

In Matthew iii, 12, the Church is compared to a thresh- 
ing floor where the grain and chaff are mingled together. By 



ALETHAURION. 



27 



the grain, the just are evidently meant, and by chaff, those 
in mortal sin. In chapter xiii, 47, of the same gospel, the 
kingdom of heaven, i. e. the Church, is likened to a net cast 
into the sea, gathering together all kinds of fishes, both bad 
and good. Again, in chapter xxii, the Church is a nuptial 
feast, to which good and bad sit down, and at which there 
was found a man who had not on a wedding garment. 

But it is useless to multiply texts since those given are so 
clear and explicit. Let one other suffice : 

In i Cor. v. 3, St. Paul commands the incestuous Corin- 
thian to be expelled from the Church. 

Now, up to the moment of his expulsion, this Corinthian, 
though in sin, was a member. 

Let us by way of conclusion, propose to ourselves a few 
objections : 

1. In the Apostles' Creed, the Church is called holy. 
Could it be justly called so if a portion of its members were 
sinners ? 

2. If sinners belong to the Church, would not the king- 
dom of Christ be made up in a great part of that of Satan ? 

3. St. Paul, Ephesians v, 25, makes use of the following 
words, which do not seem to favor the idea of a Church with 
sinful members : 44 Christ also loved the Church and de- 
livered Himself up for it, that He might sanctify it, cleans- 
ing it by the laver of water in the word of life, that He 
might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having 
spot or wrinkle nor any such thing, but that it should be 
holy and without blemish." 

Let us briefly reply to these objections . 

First, The Church ought to be holy, and truly is so we 
grant — to the exclusion of sinners, we deny. The Church is 
called holy in the creed by reason of its soul, which as we 
said in the previous chapter, is made up entirely of the just, 
It is holy by reason of its head Jesus Christ, whose sanctity 
will not be questioned here. It is so by reason of its doc^ 
trines, and of the other means it employs to save mankind. 



28 



ALETHAURION. 



In fine, it is holy, because of the heroic sanctity of so 
many thousands of its members. We have here several 
titles, on the strength of any of which the Church might 
prove its right to be called holy. 

Second, If sinners belong to the Church, the kingdom of 
Christ is made up in a great part of that of Satan. We re- 
ply, sinneramay in one respect belong to Satan, i. e. inas- 
much as they sin, but they also belong to Cheist, inasmuch 
as they acknowledge Him as their head, and live subject to 
legitimate pastors. In this there is no contradiction. 

Third, As regards the words of St. Paul, we may 
answer with his most celebrated commentator, Estius, that 
Chkist cleanses and sanctifies His Church by the sacraments 
in this world, that He may present it to Himself a glorious 
Church hereafter in heaven. 

In the next we will speak of how the body of the Church 
is organized. 



CHAPTER V. 



THE BODY OF THE CHURCH — HOW ORGANIZED. 

In the last chapter we defined the body of the Church as 
an assembly of men, sojourners in this world, who believe 
in Christ, participate of the sacraments instituted by Him, 
live subject to legitimate pastors, and especially to one, the 
Bishop of Rome, Vicar of Christ upon earth. 

In this is contained the germ of all we propose saying in 
the present chapter. Let us meditate on how this visible 
portion of the Church is organized. 

We may define our position in the following words : The 
body of the Church is made up of a divinely instituted hier- 
archy, consisting of bishops, priests and deacons ; and of 
the laity. Thus, it will be seen that the visible portion of 
the Church is made up of two distinct parts — the one active, 



ALETHAURIOX. 



29 



the other passive ; the one ruling, the other governed ; the 
one teaching, the other taught. 

We have used the words divinely instituted hierarchy, by 
which we mean to convey the idea that it was organized by 
Christ himself, and that those who compose it do not de- 
rive their right to rule and teach from the governed, but 
from the Saviour. 

We have said, also, that the hierarchy is the teaching por- 
tion, and the laity, the portion taught. By this we do not 
mean that a layman ought never teach nor give religious in- 
struction, but that it is the duty and privilege of the hier- 
archy alone, to explain authoritatively the true sense of the 
scriptures, to preserve pure the divine traditions, and, as 
occasion requires, to take from the mass of revelation one 
or more truths and formulate them into articles of faith. 

This done, any one may teach it, who knows whereof he 
speaks. 

In our definition, we make no mention of the Eoman Pon- 
tiff. Neither do we include patriarchs, primates, arch- 
bishops, arch-priests, and cardinals ; because these latter are 
of ecclesiastical, as distinct from divine origin. A patriarch, 
or primate, is not higher than a bishop, so far as orders are. 
concerned, but his jurisdiction may be, and often is, more 
extensive. 

With these observations, let us now see if Christ made 
the distinction we speak of. This is one of the points of 
difference between us and the Protestants, who deny such a 
distinction drawn by the Saviour. But, the scriptures are 
so clearly in our favor, that all we have to do is ap])eal to 
them and the question will be at once satisfactorily decided. 
Let us take a few texts and briefly explain them. 

In Matthew xviii, Christ gives to the Apostles alone the 
power of loosing and binding, i. e. the power of remitting or 
retaining sin. 4 'Amen. I say unto you, whatsoever you 
shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and. 



30 



ALETHAURION. 



whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also 
in heaven." 

Now the Saviour, besides the twelve Apostles, had also 
seventy-two Disciples, and yet this power of loosing and 
binding is given only to the Apostles. Here is a distinction 
made by the Saviour himself, the same that we Catholics 
maintain there is to day between the clergy and laity. 

Again, Matthew xxvi, the Saviour gives the Apostles 
alone the power of consecrating the Eucharist. "Do this," 
says He, "in commemoration of Me." 

The Apostles alone were present with Him at the Last 
Supper, when He instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist. 
Why, might we ask, was not His Blessed Mother, or some 
one of His Disciples there, also, on so important an occa- 
sion ? 

The reason is clear enough ; because the Saviour, on that 
occasion, was going to institute the priesthood of the new 
law, and draw a line of demarkation that was to remain till 
the end of time. Hence, only the Apostles were present, 
and each and every one of them became a priest of the new 
law, just as soon as Christ had pronounced the words, "Do 
this in Commemoration of Me." 

Again, in Matthew xxviii., He commands the Apostles 
to go and teach all nations, promising that He would be 
with them, and their successors, till the end of time. "Go 
ye, therefore," says He, "and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever 
I have commanded you ; and behold, I am with you always, 
even to the consummation of the world." 

Now, one must be necessarily very short-sighted not to 
see in these several texts a broad line of distinction, drawn 
between the Apostles and their successors in office, and the 
rest of the faithful. 

Protestants maintain that the Saviour established no 
external priesthood, and, consequently, deny that the clergy 



ALETHAURION. 



31 



and laity are, by divine right, distinct bodies of men. They 
assert that every one, by baptism, becomes a priest, and 
that all Church authority is vested in the people. The 
members being thus on a perfect equality, no one has the 
right to assume authority, nor teach publicly, till duly 
elected to office by his associates. When chosen, he 
preaches and teaches by the authority of the Church that 
chose him. This he may continue to do till another is 
elected in his stead, in which case all the authority given to 
him returns to those by whom it was originally granted, 
and the pastor that ivas becomes a simple sheep, in no 
respect different from the other members of the flock. 

Now, though every Protestant may not be able to formu- 
late this idea as we have, still, to an attentive observer, it 
will appear evident that it lies at the foundation of their 
thoughts, words and actions on Church affairs. 

To its influence we may trace that disrespect with which 
the members of Protestant churches treat those of their 
preachers whom they conceive guilty of some misdemeanor. 
The public prints are occasionally full of the details of how 
this, that, or the other minister, was chased off by the 
members of his flock. The reason of all this is because 
they do not regard their pastor as a man sent by God to 
rule and direct them, but rather as a servant, of whom they 
expect so much work in consideration of so much pay. 

We may now bring forward some passages of Scripture, to 
show that the authority of the pastors of the Church is not 
derived from the people, but directly from Christ. In 
.Matthew xxxviii, the Saviour says : 4 4 All power is given to 
me in heaven and on earth, go ye, therefore, teach all na- 
tions." I find no trace here of the Protestant doctrine, 
that ministers receive their authority from the Church. 
Again : John xx : "As the Father hath sent me, so, also, I 
send you." 

Christ was sent directly by the Father : and He sends 
His Apostles in the same way. Add to all this, that the 



32 



ALETHAURION. 



Church did not begin to exist, in a formal manner, until no 
the flay of Pentecost. How, then, could the Apostles have 
received their authority from it ; when as yet it had no ex- 
istence ? 

Now, if the power had been given to the Church, to be 
transmitted to the minister, as the Protestant principle 
reads, every one must see that the Apostles, before begin- 
ning to preach and to administer the sacraments, ought to 
have asked for, and waited until they had received, the per- 
mission and authority of the Church. But they neither 
did so, nor was such a thing thought of in those days. 
The faithful looked to them for instruction and guidance, 
instead of presuming to give it. 

To these texts of scripture that we have given, many oth- 
ers might be added, if necessary, in support of the Catholic 
principle ; that the minister has his authority, not from 
God, through the people, but from Him directly. We do 
not mean, however, to assert that each one receives the 
right to teach and administer the sacraments immediately 
from God, as Quakers do ; who quake and dance only as 
they are moved by the spirit. 

By the word directly, we wish it understood that the power 
is given by God to the individual, and by him to another in- 
dividual and so on in direct line always through the individual. 
It is not diffused among the members of the Church, and 
concentrated in one man as occasion requires, by means of 
an election. 

In the next chapter we will state more fully how the bo^dy 

of the Church is organized, and will answer the objections 
that may be raised against all we have said in the present. 



ALETH AURION . 



sa 



CHAPTER VI. 



THE HIERARCHY. 

We have shown that the body of the Church is made up 
of two parts, by divine right, distinct, viz : Of the hierarchy 
consisting of bishops, priests and deacons, and of the laity. 
A word about these terms before proceeding any further. 

By the hierarchy, most persons suppose the bishops only 
are meant. This idea, which is incorrect, no doubt has its 
origin in confounding the first two syllables of the term, 
with the word higher. All Catholics understand that the 
office of bishojD is of more exalted grade than that of priest 
or deacon ; hence the tendency, because of the sound, to call 
the assembly of bishops the hierarchy. As to the priests 
and deacons, the majority take as granted that there is no 
word as yet invented for them ; though lowerarchy would 
appear the most suitable, if it could only be brought into 
general use. 

Such popular notions of higher and lower archies rest on a 
false assumption ; and, are not only inaccurate, but directly 
contrary to an article of faith, defined in the Council of 
Trent, Sess. xxiii, can. vi., in which the hierarchy is made 
to consist of bishops, priests and deacons or ministers. 

The word is a compound, and of Greek origin, being 
made up of hieros, sacred, and ai^chia , authority. Hence, it 
expresses well that portion of the Church militant, whose 
right to command is sacred, because of divine institution. It 
will now be readily observed, that the antithesis lies, not 
between the ideas of higher and lower, but between those of 
sacred and profane. 

The term bishop, as applied to an officer in the Church, 
is one whose meaning all understand. It comes from the 
Greek episkopos, an overseer. Few would recognize the 



34 



ALETHAURION <, 



original in its English dress, for words, like battalions of 
soldiers, are changed mightily by a long term of service. 
So, at least, it has happened to that of which we are speak- 
ing ; it has lost a third of its letters, and half of its syllables. 

The word is employed once in the Old Testament, ii. Es- 
dras, xi, 22. The officer spoken of there, though called a 
bishop, is of course, different from one in our sense. In 
the New Testament it occurs five times ; used in each case as 
at present. 

Priest, as the name of the officer, by divine appointment, 
next to a bishop, is also of Helenic origin ; but, like Hec- 
tor's ghost, so changed, that but few would recognize in it 
now, the long and sonorous presbyteros of the ancient Greek. 
Yet such is the case. The Roman was first, this time, in 
the work of mutilation. He took off the final syllable, and 
made it presbyter. The Frenchman took away another, and 
shuffled what was left into pretre. John Bull staggered 
up, with too mnch brown stout in him to get more than one 
syllable out, and so the word presbyteros, an elder, has 
become shortened into priest. Presbyter, or priest, occurs 
six times in the New Testament, and is in all cases, applied 
to certain officers in the Church. 

Some of the sectarians call their preachers elders, mean- 
ing thereby to be exceedingly scriptural. We have all, 
however, long since learned that a walnut cannot be changed 
into an orange by calling it so. Neither will calling Pro- 
testant preachers elders make them so, in the scriptural 
meaning of that word. It is required that some one, who 
has authority, should first impose hands on them, and grant 
certain powers, before we can allow those preachers to take 
seats among the old folks in the Church of God. 

This same word, presbyter, or elder, has also afforded a 
base of operations to those who deny that there is offered 
in the mass a real and true sacrifice. The word Hereus, 
say they, which means a sacrificing priest, is nowhere 
applied in the New Testament to the ministers of religion. 



ALETHAURION. 



35 



If, as Catholics maintain, there is offered to God, in the 
Mass, a real sacrifice, then the word 'ie7*eis, and not pres- 
buteroi, would have been used by the Evangelists. 

We reply, the Apostles and Evangelists knew pretty well 
what they were about, whether they spake or wrote ; neither 
did they ask for, nor require, the aid of heretics to enable 
them to make a proper selection of words. In fact, if we 
look well into the circumstances of the case, we will see the 
wisdom displayed in using the word elder or presbyter, for, 
if the term 'iereus, or sacrificing priest, had been taken, the 
officers of the new Church might, in the vulgar mind, be 
confounded with the Jewish priests, who offered bloody 
sacrifices in Jerusalem, or with the pagan, who were to be 
found in all the principal cities thoughout the Kornan 
Empire. 

Furthermore, it is false that the term 'iereus is never 
applied in the Scriptures to the officers of the Church of 
Christ. In Chapter v. of Revelations, as may be seen by 
consulting the original, that those four and twenty elders, 
who, in verse 8th, are called presbuteori, in verse 10th 
receive the appellation of 'iereis, sacrificing priests. 

Of deacons, mention is made only three times in the New 
Testament. But, in Chapter vi. of Acts, we have a cir- 
cumstantial account of their election, and of the duties they 
were required to perform. These three grades of officers, 
taken along with the laity, or people, constitute the body of 
the Church. We have intentionally erased from our list all 
cardinals, patriarchs, archbishops, archpriests, archdeacons, 
and such like, for these titles are of human origin. 

Now that we have taken a view of the body of the true 
Church, and gained some idea of how it is organized, let us 
pass beyond the walls, and pay a visit to the outsiders. 

Dean Swift, and before him, Erasmus, said that when 
the Pope weeds his garden, he throws what he has plucked 
up over the fence. By outsiders we mean such weeds. We 



36 



ALETHAURION . 



may divide them into two principal classes, schismatics the 
one, and heretics the other. 

A schismatic is a man who, while retaining, in great part, 
and believing what the Church teaches, resists, neverthe- 
less, the authority of the chief bishop. In other words, he 
is a man that aims at dividing the Church. 

A heretic chooses for himself what he wishes to believe 
of all that God has revealed, and resists authority, along 
with assuming, impiously, the liberty to discriminate. 

Thus it will be seen that a heretic is much lower in grade 
than a schismatic. But, as Shakspeare says of rotten 
apples, there is small choice between them. 

Of those called schismatics, we do not wish to speak at 
any length in the present chapter, for, though they refuse to 
acknowledge the Pope's jurisdiction, still, in other respects, 
their Church organization does not differ from ours. 

Of heretics, properly so called, we make exception of the 
Anglicans also. They keep up, at least, the appearance of 
Apostolic succession. Hence Dryden has said of the An- 
glican Church, that it is "the least deformed^ because the 
least reformed. ' 

Our business is with the Lutherans and Calvinists, and 
their imitators of lesser notoriety. Now, it is amusing to 
read the cock and bull story, given us by Mosheim, of how 
the ecclesiastical hierarchy began and progressed. In part 
ii, chapter v, of his Church History, this great light of 
Lutheranism says, that, in the first century, and from the 
time of the Apostles, the government of the Church was 
purely democratic, the entire authority having been in the 
hands of the people ; there were, according to him, no 
bishops, superior to the elders or priests, in each Church. 

We refuted one part of this statement in the last chapter, 
by showing that Christ gave the power directly to the pastors 
and not to the people. As to there having been no bishops, 
superior to the elders, in each Church : if our great light 



ALETHAURION. 



37 



had read over carefully, i Timothy v, 19 he would never 
have made so groundless an assertion. 

In the scripture we allude to, St. Paul addressing Timothy, 
whom he had made bishop of Ephesus, says to him, "and 
against a priest, receive not an accusation, but under two or 
three witnesses." 

If he who has the right to examine witnesses, and judge 
the conduct of elders, be not the superior in office, then we 
confess inability to imagine in what official superiority can 
consist. Our great light goes on to say, in the same work, 
i Gen. i part chapter 2, that, about the middle of the second 
century, the councils changed entirely the face of the 
Church ; diminished the privileges of the people, and 
increased the authority of the bishops. 

The latter, says Mosheim, now assumed the right to ma^e 
laws without consulting the people. These pretensions 
were greatly increased in the third century, when the bish- 
ops took away a good deal of the power which the priests 
or elders in the Churches had possessed. He regards St. 
Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, as the principal author of 
these changes. 

Now, if Mosheim had brought forward proofs to sustain 
his position, he might deserve some attention ; but when he 
gives his word only, we can reply "testimonium unius, tes- 
timonium nullius" the testimony of one, the testimony of 
none. 

We may ask, however, before dismissing him, what about 
the promise made by Christ to the Apostles, and their suc- 
cessors, that He would be with them even until the consum- 
mation of ages? We are inclined to think that promise 
must have failed, if Mosheim' s testimony be true. 

We would like to know how the bishops of Asia, of Syria, 
of Egypt, of the coasts of Africa, of Italy, could all have 
conspired to change the government established by the 
Apostles? Let Mosheim, or any one who believes as he, 
tell us how it happens that the government in all those 



38 ALETHAURION. 

• 

ancient Churches is episcopal ; in no essential manner dif- 
ferent from what it is in the Catholic Church of these Uni- 
ted States. 

Certainly the bishops of one and all those different 
Churches could not have been ambitious, nor is it reasona- 
ble to think that the people everywhere would have suffered 
with docility to be deprived of rights and powers inherited 
from their ancestors in the faith. 

When our friends, who so much dislike episcopal rule, 
give us satisfactory answers to these few questions, we will 
then bring up positive proofs from the writings of St. 
Clement, St. Ignatius and others who lived before the end 
of the first century, showing that in their day, the govern- 
ment of the Church did not differ from what we find it in 
ours. 

The Presbyterians and Lutherans cannot bear the idea of 
a hierarchy, and yet, in practice, they each have one. 
Among the Presbyterians of Scotland, e. g., each minister 
has under his control the elders of his Church. Twenty- 
four ministers form a presbytery or synod, at whose head 
there is a president. This president has a right to visit the 
parishes, admit aspirants to the ministry, suspend ministers, 
excommunicate, and decide upon all Church affairs. 

It is about the same among the Lutherans ; the only dif- 
ference is that, instead of calling their chief man a presi- 
dent, they dub him superintendent. In this country all the 
Protestant Churches, with the exception of the Episcopal 
and Methodist sects, follow the Lutheran and Calvinistic 
system of Church government, sometimes modified in par- 
ticular cases. 

They elect their officers and pretend to have scriptural 
precedent in the election of the seven deacons spoken of in 
Acts vi. But they ought to know that, though the deacons 
were elected by the people, they had to be ordained by the 
Apostles. The people may render testimony to a man's 



ALETHAUEION. 



39 



fitness ; but only those who are successors of the Apostles 
can ordain him. 

In the next chapter we will consider more fully the case 
mentioned in Acts vi, of the election of the seven deacons, 
and attempt to define what the rights of the people may be 
on the subject under consideration. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE SEVEN DEACONS. 

We read in chap, vi of Acts, that when the number of the 
faithful had greatly increased in Jerusalem, there arose at 
the same time certain jealousies among them. The Apostles 
were far from approving of such, but they sought to remedy 
the evil by mild means, instead of rebuking the principal 
actors. To understand the disagreement, it must be borne 
in mind that, in those days all things were in common among 
the faithful. When one, possessed of wealth, had embraced 
Christianity, he sold his worldly goods and gave the proceeds 
to be used in supplying the wants of all indiscriminately. 

At the time, not only a multitude of Jews, but also many 
Grecians had professed belief in Christ, and, it was from 
the latter came the trouble that occasioned the election and 
ordination of the seven deacons. The Grecians thought that 
more attention had been paid to the wants of the Jewish or- 
phans and widows than to their own. 

So, when the Apostles became aware that there was mur- 
muring, they sought to remedy the evil at once. The multi- 
tude having been called together, they explained, that the 
preaching of the word and the administration of the sacra- 
ments, being of the first importance, they had not time to 
give special attention to the public tables. 

At their request, the assembly chose out seven, who were 
to attend to this business, and see that an impartial use was 



40 



ALETHAURION. 



made of the public money. Their names were Stephen, 
Philip, Prochoras, Nicanor, Timon, Parmexas and Nich- 
olaus. These have Greek names, and we suspect that most 
of them were of the same origin. 

In this truly apostolic way was the danger of schism 
averted, and peace again restored. Such is the account 
given in Acts vi, of the election of the seven deacons. 

Now, in previous chapters, we mentioned that in our own 
country most of the sectarian Churches elect their officers, 
and hold the principle that all power is vested in the people- 
In support of these views, they point to the election spoken 
of. 

Before we are through, we hope to make it appear that 
neither from this, nor any other portion of scripture, can it 
be proved that the right of electing Church officers is essen- 
tially and by divine right vested in the people. And, fur- 
thermore, that something else is required besides election, 
before one can be rightly called a minister of the Church of 
Christ. 

As but few, if any, of the sects have a well defined system 

of theology, we shall not waste time nor ink in attempting 

to condense into a tangible form their va^ue theories and 
© © 

practices in the election and inauguration of ministers. 

When we have defined what the rights of the people are, 
according to the scriptures and fathers of the Church, the 
reader will then have a rule by which to measure the merits 
of any particular case to which his attention may be called. 

We may state our position in the following words : From 
the election of the seven deacons, it may be inferred that the 
people have the right to nominate candidates for sacred orders, 
and render testimony concerning their merits at ordination. 
This is the first part. Its truth will become evident by 
even a cursory glance at the scripture of which we are speak- 
ing. But if any further proofs be needed, they may be 
found in the writings of the Fathers, which show that the 



ALETHAURION. 



41 



rights spoken of, on the part of the people, were freely ex- 
ercised in the primitive ages ; as they also are at the present 
day, though, in a manner to correspond with the diversity 
of circumstances. 

Clement, third Pope after St. Peter, in his letter to the 
Corinthians, writes as follows : 

'•The Apostles, through Jesus Christ, knew the contentions there 
would be on the score of election to bishoprics. For this reason, being 
possessed of perfect fore-knowledge, they ordained bishops, and then 
gave form by which they (the bishops) being called away by death, 
others of approved lives, might succeed to their ministry; the entire 
Church testifying its pleasure." 

From these words we gather, that it was by the judgment 
and choice of the Apostles bishops were first constituted ; 
and after them, only such were to be raised to the dignity 
who had good testimony with the people. 

Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, epistle 69, uses the follow- 
ing pointed language on the same subject : 

tk For which reason the people, obeying the precepts of the Lord, and 
fearing God, ought to separate themselves from a sinful prelate, and take 
no part in the sacrifice of a sacrilegious priest; since they have the power 
of choosing worthy priests, and of refusing- unworthy ones." 

From these words we see the right of the people to re- 
ject unworthy and select worthy ministers, was fully 
acknowledged in the third century, and by the great saint 
and martyr, Cyprian. 

The Catholics of Germany have lately exercised the same 
rights in the case of Dolinger, Keinexns, and others, who 
proved themselves undeserving of confidence. 

We have said that the voice of the people is taken into 
consideration in ours, as in ancient times. This is truly the 
case, but it is done in a manner to correspond with present 
circumstances. Let us take a few examples. 

The Pope is elected by the cardinals, who represent the 
people of Borne, each cardinal being the titular head of one 
of ancient parish Churches of the city. Hence, he votes for 
the Pope in the name of the people, just as a member of the 
legislature votes for United States Senator. 



42 



ALETH AURI0N . 



Bishops, according to the canon law, are elected by the 
cathedral chapter, composed, in great part, of the parish 
priests of the diocese. These are presumed to know the 
wishes of the people and vote accordingly. When a person 
is about to be ordained priest, there is one present who an- 
swers, in the name of the people, that the candidate is 
worthy. 

We have now stated the rights of the people, regarding 
the election and ordination of ministers. 

Secular princes, being at the head of the nation, sometimes 
ambitiously claim the right of speaking in its name, and of 
accepting or rejecting prelates appointed by the Holy See. 
This is what Bismarck and Victor Emmanuel are trying to 
do. We shall not wait to discuss the question, whether the 
wishes of these gentlemen can be said to represent those of 
the Catholic people over whom they rule. We go deeper, 
and establish a principle that will at once draw the prop from 
their pretensions. 

The people themselves do not possess by divine right, 
but only by apostolic concession, the privilege of proposing 
candidates for orders, and of rejecting ministers whom they 
do not like. The truth of this proposition will be evident 
from the following considerations: ''Let no man," says 
St. Paul, speaking of ministers, "take to himself this 
honor, but he who is called of God, as Aaron was." — 
[Heb. v. 

Now, Aaron was chosen by Moses alone, without the 
counsel or assent of the people. Christ sent His Apostles 
without consulting the people. Paul made bishops of both 
Titus and Timothy, without having asked the consent of 
the people. Hence, if the voice of the people be essential, 
that is, of divine right, in the election of ministers, Paul 
would have gone beyond his powers, which no sane Chris- 
tian man will affirm. 

Furthermore, in Acts vi. we see a concession, on the part 
of the Apostles, not the acknowledgment of a right. 



ALETHAUEION. 



43 



"Therefore, brethren," said they, "look ye out among you 
seven men of good reputation, whom we may appoint." 
The Apostles did the appointing and laying on of hands, 
without which those elected by the people would have had 
no powers. 

From all this we may infer that the rights spoken of are 
not inherent in the people, but are concessions of the 
Church to avert schism. Let us, also, in conclusion, reflect 
on the hollowness of sectarian pretension. 

They may, indeed, elect their officers, but have no one 
with authority to ratify the election, and give the chosen 
ones the power required for the office. This can only be 
done where there is a line of bishops coming down from 
the Apostles. If one link of the chain were broken, the 
whole world could not mend it. How futile, then, are the 
pretensions of sectarian ministers to pastoral authority, who 
do not possess a link at all of that golden chain that con- 
nects the Church of to-day with that of the Apostles, the 
Church of the Apostles with Christ, and, through Him, 
unites the whole to the throne of the living and eternal 
God, from whom all righteous authority emanates. 

In the next, we will tell how to find the Church that has 
the Apostolic succession. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



HOW TO FIND THE TRUE CHURCH. 

We have at the present day, and have had from Apostolic 
times, various Christian denominations. Each pretends to 
be the true Church, and maintains that all the others are so 
many synagogues of Satan. Such being the state of affairs, 
all, we think, will see at a glance the necessity of certain 
marks by which to distinguish the Church of Christ from 
all others. Each farmer or trader has some particular 



44 



ALETHAURION. 



brand by which he knows his stock among those of other 
people. If he had not, in case one strayed, he would search 
for it in vain. 

It is thus, too, in regard to Church organizations. There 
are so many that, before beginning search for the true one, 
we must determine if it has any peculiar marks, and, in case 
it has, what these are. 

Now, God requires impossibilities of no man ; hence, 
when He imposed the obligation of belonging to the true 
fold, He also arranged things that any one who seriously 
inquires may easily find it. He has impressed upon it cer- 
tain characters or marks which belong to it and to no other. 
These are unity, holiness, universality and apostolicity . 

At present, we will confine our remarks to the first on 
the list. Unity is an essential feature of the Church of 
Christ. The reader may wish to know what we mean by 
the expression. An essential property is that by which a 
thing is what it is, or that, which being taken away, the 
thing can no longer be conceived. 

Thus, it is essential to a circle, that each and every point 
of the circumference be equally distant from the center. 
Any figure, no matter how round it may appear to us, is not 
a circle, unless it has the property we allude to. 

So, when we say that unity is an essential feature of the 
Church of Christ, we mean that, without it, you can no 
more have a true Church than you can have a square circle. 
The unity we speak of is of two kinds : Unity in subsisting, 
and unity in teaching. 

It will now be in order to show, from the Saviour's words, 
that the Church is one in its mode of subsisting. Our scrip- 
tural texts are ready and at hand. In Matthew xiii, 47, the 
Church is called a kingdom. Luke xiv, 23, it is called, by 
similitude, a house. John x, 16, it is styled a sheep/old. 
The singular number is always employed in speaking of it. 

Now, let us bear in mind that the Saviour came from 
heaven, not only to redeem us, but also to teach the human 



ALETHAURION. 



45 



race, by example and by word. No expression of His was 
superfluous ; no similitude inappropriate. In fact, just as 
the microscope reveals wonderful perfections, even in the 
smallest works of God, so will a little reflection show the 
great wisdom displayed by the Saviour in the similitudes He 
employed. 

Take the expressions, kingdom, house, sheep/old. Why 
use these in connection with the Church ? Was it by chance 
that He took them from the scores of others? Verily not. 
Our illustrations are sometimes badly chosen ; His never, for 
He comprehended the present, and He knew all that was and 
is to happen until the end of time. 

Let us see then, what there is remarkable in a kingdom 
that made him liken His Church to one. There is this, and 
it is worthy of consideration, that only one king is admis- 
sible at a time. " Two stars keep not their motions in the 
same orbit, nor can one England," says Shakspeare, ' 'brook 
the double rule of Harry Percy and the Prince of Wales." 

As far as we have read in history, we have never yet 
learnt the name of a kingdom that was large enough for two 
kings, at once. Ancient Sparta had something of the kind, 
but, omitting to mention the animosities that always existed 
between the reigning families, we must remember that 
neither was king in the strict sense, for the sovereign power 
was really in the hands of the senate, composed of twenty- 
eight members, and of the ep7iori, five in number. Sparta 
was a republic ; and the kings were nothing more than her- 
editary consuls, with far less power than those of Kome. 

Now, besides there being only one sovereign in every 
kingdom, what else do we find peculiar in it? That all who 
hold office in the realm, do so, either directly or indirectly, 
by the king's authority. The general commands armies, 
the admiral steers fleets, the judge sits on the bench, and 
administers justice, all in the name of the sovereign. 

What we have said of a kingdom, may be repeated of a 
house. In each well ordered family, there is one head, 



46 



ALETHAURION. 



whose authority is above that of all others. As to a sheep- 
fold, not to speak of the shepherd, it is a well known fact that 
in each flock there is one leader, and where he goes the rest 
follow. This has been noticed by almost every one, and 
needs only to be alluded to. 

From these similitudes, we see that the Church of Christ 
must have unity, must have some one at the head, for other- 
wise it would not be a kingdom, nor a house, nor a sheep- 
fold. 

The other kind of unity, which forms a mark of the true 
Church, is that of belief. Christ taught one system of 
truth. Hence, wherever His followers are, their belief is 
the same. There will be found among them no jarring 

O JO 

opinions, at least, on the score of religion. 

In conclusion we say : Should these lines fall into the 
hands of one who has not as yet embraced Christianity, but 
desires to do so, yet is uncertain, in the multitude of con- 
flicting sects, which is the right way ; to such a one, we 
would in Christian charity suggest, to choose that Church 
which has the mark of unity, which is a house, a kingdom, a 
sheep/old, for it alone bears upon it the divine seal, the 
character impressed by the Saviour, by which He wishes you 
to know it. 

And should any member of an heretical sect see this, let 
him reflect, and ask himself the question : Is there any one 
in my Church, who holds a place analogous to that of a sov- 
ereign in a kingdom, to that of a father in a family, to that 
of a leader in a flock? If not, then let him know that he is 
in the wrong fold. 

It will not do to say that Christ is the head of the 
Church, and that no other is necessary. True, He is its in- 
visible head, but He is also the head of all earthly realms, 
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. But who will on that 
account, say that earthly sovereignty is an usurpation? The 
Church of Christ on earth, being a visible body, must have 
a visible head. It would be a monster if it had not. 



ALETHAURION. 



47 



In the next we will show that the organization known as 
the Catholic Church has the unity we speak of in its mode of 
subsisting. 



CHAPTER IX. 



CATHOLIC UNITY — SECTARIAN DIVISIONS. 

We saw, in the last chapter, that unity is one of the marks 
by which the true Church may be distinguished. In the 
present, our purpose is to show that the Catholic Church, 
and no other, has impressed upon it, the mark in question. 
Let us at once proceed to the work. 

The Church of Christ is a kingdom ; and, in every king- 
dom there is one, and only one chief. In the Catholic 
Church there is one, and only one visible head. Thus far 
the analogy is perfect. In a kingdom, all who exercise au- 
thority, are appointed, either directly or indirectly, by the 
sovereign. In the Catholic Church all admit the Pope to be 
the source of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 

Thus, for example, in the Western Church, all bishops, 
whether elected, according to canon law, or appointed 
by concession of the Holy See, must await the pope's con- 
firmation before assuming direction of the affairs, whether 
temporal or spiritual, within those dioceses to which they 
have been elected or appointed. 

As regards the Oriental countries, though the system is 
somewhat different in practice, it is the same in theory. In 
the East there are five patriarchs, each of whom has the 
power to choose and consecrate bishops, without consulting 
the Pope. Yet, those very patriarchs themselves must, be- 
fore assuming authority, get the consent and receive the 
confirmation of the Holy See. 

We have now said enough to show that in the Catholic 
Church there is one, and only one head. This is a point that 



48 



ALETHAUKION. 



needs no great marshaling of arguments to sustain it, for 
almost every one knows that Catholics, every where, admit 
the Pope's supremacy. 

Let us now cast a glance over the way toward the camps 
of 4 4 our separated brethren," as some good natured people 
call the heretics of our times. Let us observe if all, or any 
one of the sects, can be said to have that unitv in subsisting, 
which is so prominent a feature in the Church of which we 
are members. To speak of the sects collectively would be 
useless, for, it is well known, there is no man on earth whom 
they acknowledge as head. 

It is vain then to say that all, taken together, constitute 
the Church of Christ. They do not convey to our minds the 
idea of a kingdom, and very far are they from giving us 
that of a house. Each sect is independent of all others, 
each congregation perfectly free to follow its own fancies, 
and each individual, as occasion requires, will let it be 
known, that he too has a head of Ms own. 

Taken collectively, the sects present a most deplorable 
picture of confusion. One is pulling in this way, another in 
that, and, like a gang of imperfectly broken oxen, yoked 
together, they go in for cracking necks without mercy. 

As w T e fail to distinguish anything like unity among 
them, taken as a body, let us single out some one, and ex- 
amine its claims. The organization known as the Episcopal 
Church will best suit our purpose, because it is, compara- 
tively speaking, the most perfect of them. Has the Epis- 
copal that unity, which, as we have seen, is a mark of the 
true Church of Christ? Is it a kingdom? If so, who is 
sovereign ? 

We know who is its head in Kentucky, and in some of ♦ 
the other States of this Union. But that is not enough to 
give us the idea of a kingdom. . Who is head of the Epis- 
copal Church for the entire world ? The only answer to 
this question will be — there is none. What follows? That 



ALETHAURIOX. 



49 



in the most perfect of all sects there is a palpable lack of 
unity in its mode of subsisting. 

Take another case, or, rather, a different view of the 
same one. Consider the claims of the Church of England. 
Do we find unity there? It must be confessed we do, if 
not in the belief of its members, at least in its mode of 
subsisting. The Queen is the head of it, and all Anglican 
Bishops hold their places by her authority. Each sovereign 
of England, from the days of Henry VIII., is the head of 
the Church and of the State. During the reign of Eliza- 
beth the pretensions of Henry were more fully carried out. 
To such an extent was this the case, that each Bishop 
within the realm who wished to retain his See was obliged 
take the following oath : 

" I declare, in conscience, that the Queen is the sole, supreme govern- 
ess of the Kingdom of England, not less in spiritual matters than in tem- 
poral, and that no foreign prelate or prince has' any ecclesiastical au- 
thority in the kingdom. Hence, I altogether renounce all foreign 
powers." 

By this declaration, it will be observed, that the sovereign 
of England is acknowledged the head of the Church. 
Hence, to outward appearance, there is as much unity in 
the Church as by law established in the British dominions 
as there is in ours. But is this unity of the right kind? Is 
it such as Christ established? We think not, and, in sup- 
port of our opinion, we would call attention to Matthew 
xvi., where the Saviour says to one of His Apostles : 

44 Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it.' 1 

From this passage alone, not to speak of what is said in 
John xxi., we see that Peter was made the earthly head of 
the Church, and men, after having once sworn allegiance 
to Christ, were bound in conscience not to break off com- 
munion with His vicar 

We would like to know if Victoria is the successor in 
office of St. Peter. If so, we have never seen any proof 
of the fact, nor any attempt at it. 



50 



ALETHAURION. 



Does she pretend to be the head of Christ's Church in 
such a manner that all who refuse to obey her in spiritual 
things commit a sin? We think not ; it would be folly on 
her part to make such pretensions. For, who has given 
her the right to command in the Church of God? Cer- 
tainiy it was not the Saviour, for the kings and queens 
of England were not dreamt of when the Church was 
first founded. She has, therefore, no divine right to com- 
mand, and, by consequence, no one is bound in con- 
science to obey her in spiritual things. For, when God 
gives not the right to command, he does not impose the 
obligation to obey. Moreover, Christ intended that His 
Gospel should be preached over the entire world, and as 
a consequence that His Church should have equal exten- 
sion. Hence, if the Queen of England is the head of the 
Church of Christ, at all, she must be so everywhere. But, 
how heartily Bishop Smith, of this State, would laugh if 
Victoria should send him a letter informing him that he 
was suspended from office, and that she had in her apostolic 
solicitude, appointed another in his stead. The head of the 
Church would be apt to get a back answer. 

Thus, we have taken the most perfect of all the sects and 
have searched it for unity in vain. We only found a coun- 
terfeit, that even a child may detect. Of the small sects, 
scattered throughout the country, we do not think it worth 
while to speak. They are like fishing worms — the heads and 
tails are all alike. 

In our next we will take up the question of unity in belief, 
and show that, in the Catholic Church, the faithful be- 
lieve not only alike, but that it is impossible there should 
be differences of opinion, on any question essential to man's 
salvation, among them. 



ALETHAURION. 



51 



CHAPTER X 



ALL CATHOLICS BELIEVE ALIKE. 

That unity of belief amongst its members is a mark of the 
true Church few reflecting persons will deny. The Saviour 
taught one, and only one, religious system, and wished his 
followers to believe each and every article of it. All who 
embrace this system believe alike, because truth is every- 
where consistent with itself. If there were a difference, it 
would result from the fact that one or the other believed 
less or more than the Saviour taught. 

We may then say with truth, that even a general knowl- 
edge of who Cheist was, and what He came on earth to ac- 
complish, would, of itself, convince us that the belief of His 
followers must be one and the same. What right reason 
may gather from the consideration of a few general princi- 
ples, revelation renders yet more clear. Let one passage, 
with a short explanation of it, suffice: Eph. iv. 5. Paul, 
exhorting the faithful to continue in unity, makes use of 
these expressive words : 

"One Lord, one faith, one baptism." 

To understand more fully the force of this saying of the 
great Apostle, we must bear in mind that the word faith has 
a triple meaning. By attending to this, we may avoid con- 
fusion of thought, and set to right expressions we fre- 
quently hear use made of by heretics. The latter speaking 
of faith, often mean by it, nothing more than a certain con- 
fidence in the Saviour's merits. This corresponds exactly 
with what we mean by presumption, as used in the cate- 
chism. 

The writer has often heard the expression, " he died with 
great faith in Jesus," in connection with the name of some 
hardened old sinner, who after having spent nearly his whole 
life in the service of the Devil, and well feathered his 



52 



ALETHAURION. 



earthly nest with illicit gain, at last joined some sectarian 
conventicle, in order to ease his conscience, or else, may be, 
to die in the fashion. By joining the Church, such old 
hypocrites imagine that Jesus takes upon His own shoulders 
all their iniquities, and squares their debt at a blow — so glad 
is He to get hold of so much respectability. They die, 
generally, 44 with great faith in Jesus," which means in 
simple terms, that they pass out of this world with a foolish 
expectation of salvation, without making proper use of the 
means to obtain it. That we call, not faith, but presumption 
of God's mercy, which is a sin against the Holy Ghost. 

In the second place, the word faith is used to express that 
divine virtue infused into our souls, by which we believe all 
that God has revealed, and the Church proposes for belief. 
Finally, faith or the faith, means the aggregate of those 
truths taught by Christ of the Apostles. 

Now comes the question, to which we desire to invite 
attention. When Paul says faith is one: In which of the 
three senses does he use the word? A little reflection will 
show, that it is in the last. He mentions it in connection 
with Baptism, and God, which, to us, are objective ideas. 
The conclusion we draw is, that, according to Paul, objec- 
tive faith is one, a unit, and all who belong to the Church 
of Christ must hold it as such. It will not do to say, as 
once did a sectarian deacon to the writer, when speaking on 
the subject of the Real Presence. " Well," says Mr. 
Deacon, when argument had failed, " it appears to me that 
a great many of these things are merely matters of indiffer- 
ence, and provided one has faith in the Lord, I think he will 
be saved, no matter what denomination he may belong to." 

We were not prepared to coincide with his liberal views, 
considering what the Apostle says about being " careful to 

keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace 

till we all meet in the unity of faith," Eph. iv. 3, 13. We 
suspect that enough has been said to establish the fact that 
unity of belief, among the members, is a mark of Christ's 



ALETHAURION = 



53 



Church. We will next proceed to investigate which of the 
various existing denominations has the unity we speak of. 
Let us take, at first, the Catholic Church. Now, as we can- 
not see men's thoughts, we must judge by such facts as are 
patent to all, and by principles which are called a priori by 
logicians. 

We see in these United States, almost every day, occur- 
rences that might well open the eyes of Protestants. When 
a German, a Frenchman, Englishman, or Belgian, comes to 
this country, he does not find the Catholic Church different 
from what it is in his own. He finds here Catholics 
believing just the same as there. It would not be different 
were we of America to travel in Europe, Asia or Africa ; our 
religious opinions would suffer no shock at hearing them 
speak of the Church. 

But, it is not alone of the fact, that we wish to speak, 
but also of the principle on which it is based. Catholics, 
as long as they wish to remain so, cannot help believing 
alike, for, w T ith us, it passes for a principle, that Christ 
established in His Church a living teaching authority, ac- 
cording to whose lessons must be squared the belief of each 
individual. 

This authority, of which the Pope is chief representative, 
is neither dead nor dumb, but stands ever ready to admon- 
ish and direct the faithful, and not alone that, but to 
condemn whatever is contrary to faith and morals. Hence 
it is that, in the Catholic Church, not only have we unity of 
belief among its members but also the principal by which 
it is maintained — authority. We will next briefly consider 
the question of unity of belief outside of the true fold. 

Here also, a difficulty presents itself at the very threshold. 
We cannot take a heretic in each hand, and, holding them 
up between us and the light, say this one's liver is of a 
different color from that one's. We can only judge 
from eternal facts, and a priori principles, also, in this 
case, as in that of Catholics. The facts, however, are of a 



54 



ALETHAURION. 



nature quite satisfactory for our purpose. We need not 
quote Scripture, nor the Fathers, to show that Presbyter- 
ians do uot believe as Episcopalians. That Methodists and 
Campbellites won't agree. That Hardshell and Missionary 
Baptists won't pull together. That, though Quakers may 
shake and Shakers may quake, yet, the shake of the Quaker 
is not the shake of the Shaker nor the quake of the Shaker 
that of the Quaker. 

Now, as regards the belief of the members of some one 
particular sect : In those cases where books on Theology 
have not been published, it would be difficult to show how 
the belief of one differed from the others. But, as far as 
the old sects are concerned, the job has been done, in a 
masterly manner, by the illustrious Bosstjet, in his work 
entitled Variations. 

However, should any Catholic for amusement sake, desire 
to find out the diversity of opinion among the members of 
some of our modern sects, let him carry out the following 
plan, and he will succeed to a miracle. Let him, in his 
own mind, single out some ten or a dozen of the more in- 
telligent members of some sect — let him then, without 
exciting suspicion, ask each one separately, if he believes 
all his preacher has said from the pulpit for the last six 
months. We are greatly mistaken, if nine out of ten don't 
answer in the negative. 

The experiment is an amusing one, and ought to be tried. 
Now the cause of this entire lack of unity in belief among 
Protestants, is the want of the principle of authority. If 
we were to remove that, even in the Catholic Church, the 
passions and private interests of men would turn it, also, into 
a babel, as confused as that of any of the heretical sects of our 
day. According as each heresiarch broke off from the true 
Church, he denied the principle of a teaching authority ; 
and established, in its stead, that of private interpretation. 
The consequence has been deplorable, for we have now, 



ALETHAURION. 



55 



outside of the true fold almost as many religions as there 
are heads. 

In the next we will consider holiness as a mark of the 
true Church. 



CHAPTER XI. 



THE TRUE CHURCH IS HOLY. 

In Ephesians v, we read, that Christ suffered and died 
that He might sanctify His Church ; and in the same epistle 
chap. i,PAUL says, that Christ "chose us that we might 
be holy and immaculate." Furthermore, in his epistle to 
Titus, the same Apostle, speaking still of Christ, says : 

u He gave himself up for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity, 
and that He might cleanse for Himself a people acceptable, and follower 
of good works, ii, 14.'' 

From these texts, and from others which could be readily 
brought forward, it will be seen that the Church must be 
holy ; that sanctity must form a peculiarity distinguishing 
it from all spurious sects, that pretend to be, but are not 
Churches of Christ. In fact, there is no man professing 
Christianity so lost to all sense and reason that pretends to 
say that the true Church of Christ can be otherwise than 
holy. 

The difficulty, if there be any at all, is in regard to the 
manner in which this mark, inasmuch as it is a visible one, 
distinguishes the true fold from all synagogues of Satan. 
In the present, and also in a future article, we intend to 
show that the mark of holiness belongs to the Catholic 
Church and to no other. 

Let us, in the first place, observe the distinction that must 
be drawn between the holiness of an individual and that of 
the Church. When speaking of any particular person living 
at present in the world, we cannot say with absolute certain- 
ty whether he is or is not holy in the sight of God. We 



56 



ALETHAURIOX. 



may have what is termed moral certitude in his regard, but 
to know absolutely that such or such a person is in a state 
of grace at a given time, without a special revelation, is im- 
possible. "There are just and wise men," says the Scrip- 
ture, Eccl. ix, 1, "and yet no one knows whether he is wor- 
thy of love or hatred," If a man, then, cannot tell, with 
absolute certainty, whether he be the friend or the enemy 
of God, for a much stronger reason he cannot say whether 
his neighbor is or is not in the state of grace. 

Why so? Because it is not necessary for a man's salva- 
tion that he should know the spiritual condition of his 
neighbor ; hence God has placed no external marks on any 
person by which we can tell the state of his soul. But, 
with the Church it is different. To belong to the true one 
has an important bearing on our salvation ; therefore God 
has given us connecting links, by which we may, with cer- 
tainty tell whether the Church to which w T e belong is or is 
not holy. What these means are we will now proceed to 
investigate. 

How, then, is the Catholic Church holy? It is so, pri- 
marily, by reason of its founder Jesus Christ — by reason of 
the doctrines which it teaches, and of the heroic sanctity of 
so many thousands of its children. The Church is holy by 
reason of its founder Jesus Christ. Let us pause here and 
consider the force of these words. There are contained in 
the sentence, two propositions. First, that Christ is the 
founder of the Catholic Church ; and secondly, that He was 
holy. Let us examine each separately. Christ is the 
founder of the Catholic Church. How do we know this? 
From history. Starting from our own day we have a con- 
tinuous chain of writers until we go back to the earliest 
times even to the birth of Christianity. These, as occasion 
requires, make mention of a Catholic Church, founded by 
Christ. Thus, at the present day, we have, among others, 
the celebrated theologian, Perroxe. In his works he speaks 
of a Church founded by the Saviour. Going back to the 



ALETH AURION . 



57 



sixteenth century, we find Cardinal Bellarmine bearing the 
same testimony. Going still farther, we have for the tenth 
century, a Bernard. Augustixe, Bishop of Hippo, gives 
testimony for the fourth century ; Tertelliax for the sec- 
ond. 

Thus, we get among the Apostolic Fathers. One of the 
latter, Clement, was the companion of Paul, and fourth 
Pope of Kome. It is of him the Apostle speaks, Phillip iv, 
in these words : 

" I pray thee also, thou faithful companion of my labors, to aid those 
women who have labored with me in the gospel, along with Clement, 
whose names are in the Book of Life."' 

All these whose names we have mentioned, either directly 
or indirectly, speak of a Church founded by Christ, identi- 
cal with the Catholic Church of to-day. 

Besides these, there are also scores of others, forming we 
may say an unbroken chain of evidence, reaching from our 
own day to the time when Christ lived here on earth. 

Another way of showing that Christ is the founder of 
the Catholic Church, is by taking the succession of the 
Popes. It is an indisputable fact, that there have been 
Popes in Kome since the time of the Apostles, and, each not 
only declared himself successor of St. Peter, but was ac- 
knowledged as such by the whole world. The Popes iden- 
tify themselves with the Catholic Church, and give it that 
relation to Christ that effect has with cause, for one of his 
Apostles, viz : Peter, stands first on the list of the Bishops of 
Eo me. 

It will be seen, from these various considerations, that the 
Catholic Church goes back as an organized society to the 
time of Christ, and bears that relation to him to that an 
effect does to its cause. The other proposition, of which we 
spoke, viz: that Christ is holy, needs no proof here. We 
believe that He is the Son of God, the Second Person of 
the Blessed Trinity, and, consequently, incapable of sin. 

Having shown that the Catholic Church is holy by reason 



58 



ALETHAURION. 



of its founder, let us next consider whether any other religious 
denomination can claim sanctity on the same ground. 

We have at the present day various sects, some of which, 
such as Nestorians, go back to a very remote period — not 
however, by some hundreds of years, to the time of Christ. 
But those we have .dealings with in America are quite mod- 
ern. None of them go back as organized societies beyond 
the sixteenth century. Not a few, such as the Meth- 
odist, Campbellite and Mormon, do not go even that far. 
Yet strange to say, nearly all claim the Saviour as thei> 
founder. But how Christ could have founded a society fif- 
teen or sixteen hundred years after his death is not easily 
understood. To illustrate we will take an example. 

Suppose some man in Ireland, should at the present day,, 
organize a society, whose aim was to free the country from 
the tyranny of the English, and should, after having done so, 
give out that George Washington was the originator of the 
society in question. Do you suppose he would get many to 
believe what he said ? We think not. The first question 
asked, would be this : Can you prove from history that this 
organization of yours goes back to the time Washington 
lived? can you show that it has the relation to him that ef- 
fect has to cause? Unless you make clear these two points 
you will succeed in persuading only the uninformed thatyour 
society came from the brain of Washington. 

Now, the members of the sects are in the same predica- 
ment. Can any of them prove that their organization goes 
back to the time of Christ ? Can they show connection with 
him as effect with cause ? 

We have seen some attempts at it, but none which a can- 
did man would not at once throw aside, as either unintelligi- 
ble or dishonest. The sects may pretend that they teach the 
doctrines of Christ, but they cannot in reason claim him as 
a founder, unless they first make clear the two items to 
which we have alluded. From all this we may gather, that 
Christ is the founder alone of the Catholic Church, and, 



ALETHAURION. 



59 



consequently, that it alone has the mark of holiness because 
of its founder. 

In the next we will pursue, a little farther, this same 
question. 



CHAPTER XII. 



HOLINESS A MARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH. 

In Chapter xi, after having shown from the Scriptures, 
that holiness is a mark of the Church of Christ, we consid- 
ered the claims of th.e Catholic Church to the mark in ques- 
tion. We referred to the fact that, of all the denomina- 
tions existing at present in the world, and claiming Christ 
as their founder, it alone can fearlessly appeal to history. 
It alone had an origin contemporary with the Apostles. We 
can easily name the time when each and every one of the 
others began, and can lay a finger on the men who first 
organized them. Where was Protestantism in general be- 
fore Luther? Where was Episcopalianism before King 
Henry? Where was* the Baptist society before the time of 
Storck and Muncer ? Where was Methodism before Wes- 
ley? Where was Campbellism before Campbell? They 
were all where Job's boils were, before Satan got permis- 
sion to afflict him. They were in the possibility of hell, 
but no where else. Hence the Catholic Church is positively 
the only one that goes back, as an organized body, to the 
the time of Christ. It is the only Church that can, with 
any show of reason, claim Him as its founder. This is a 
fact that any one may find out who is ignorant of it, but will- 
ing to make use of even a part of the diligence in searching 
for truth, which men are accustomed to employ almost 
every day in things of less importance. 

There may be some men of limited education, who do not 
know all we have said concerning the divine origin of the 
Catholic Church ; but this ignorance will not excuse them ; 



60 



ALETHAURION. 



because they can very easily find out, if they feel really in- 
terested in the matter. We may then say, in all truth and 
sincerity, without fear of contradiction, that the mark of 
holiness, by reason of its founder alone, is so clearly stamped 
upon the Catholic Church that even he who runs may 
see it. 

Now as it would be clearly ridiculous in any of the sects 
to claim Christ as immediate founder, and consequently 
unreasonable that they should pretend to the character of 
holiness, exactly on the same grounds that we do, hence 
they get around the difficulty, in a maimer that may be sat- 
isfactory to ignorant and unread people, but not so to him 
who is willing and able to investigate the truth, and equally 
prepared to accept it, when discovered. 

They say : we don't deny that the Catholic is the oldest 
Church ; that it was founded by Christ, if you will ; but, 
we maintain that, in the course of time, it fell away from 
its original purity — it became corrupt. This being the case, 
God raised up such men as Luther, Calvin, Henry VIII, 
and others to reform it ; or, at least, to lead forth God's 
people from it — pretty much in the same way that Moses 
once rescued the people of Israel from the bondage of Pha- 
raoh. This is, substantially, the plea they go on. They 
make use of the Catholic Church as abridge, whenever they 
want to establish a connection between themselves and 
Christ, but, when that is not the question under considera- 
tion, they speak of it as an institution altogether rotten and 
unsafe. 

We will now take up this idea, and, after having venti- 
lated it somewhat, each candid man will see how exceedingly 
false and fallacious it is. First, they say the Catholic 
Church became corrupt, second, that Luther, Calvin and 
others were sent to reform it. Both the one and the other 
of these assumptions are untrue ; the Church of Christ, can- 
not by any possibility, lose its purity. " You are the salt 
of the earth " says the Saviour to the Apostles. Now it is 



ALETHAURION. 



61 



a well known fact that you may take a handful of salt and 
bury it in the ground for fifty — a hundred — a thousand 
years, and at the end it will still be salt. It will not decom- 
pose like other substances. It is thus with the teachings of 
the Apostles and their successors in the ministry. The salt 
will not lose its savor. But, as we will have occasion to 
speak on this subject, when treating of the indefectibility of 
the Church of Christ, we merely for the present allude to it. 

Christ made His Church to last till the end of time. He 
was a good workman, and He has warranted His work. 
4 'Behold," says He to the Apostles and their successors, 
" I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the 
world." Hence there was no need at all that such botches 
as Martin Luther, John Calvin and others should set about 
remodeling what the Omniscient had fashioned . We would 
say, further, that it was on their part an act of blasphemous 
impudence. The Church of Christ can never need reforma- 
tion in her doctrines touching faith and morals; for 
reformation supposes previous deformation, and the spouse 
of Christ cannot become deformed. 

There is in the museum of the Capitol at Rome a celebrated 
statue, known under the name of the Dying Gladiator, 
about which Lord Byron wrote those beautiful lines found 
in the IV Canto of Childe Harold, and familiar to almost 
every school-boy. The statue is regarded by the best sculp- 
tors as a master piece. As a work of art, humanly speaking, 
it is perfect. Any changes made on it would certainly be 
for the worse. Now let us suppose that some third or fourth 
class artist, on seeing this wonderful piece of workmanship, 
should take it into his head, that, after all, it is not so per- 
fect as people think it to Tdc Suppose he took the resolution 
to remodel, according to his notions, the first opportunity 
he got. Would not every one regard such an artist a fit 
subject for bedlam ? 

But, take for granted, that this same botch should carry 
his folly to such an extent, as to come into the very room 



62 



ALETHAURION. 



where the statue is, and mallet and chisel in hand, should 
begin the work of touching off. What .would the guardian 
be likely to say, on finding such an individual at such work? 

Let us now apply this to the case of which we have spoken. 
The Church of Christ is a masterpiece, chiseled out and 
made perfect by no less a personage than the Son of God. 
What folly, then, that such men as Luther and Calvin 
should have taken it into their heads to retouch what Christ 
himself had modeled and finished. Hence, we find the Popes 
of every age, the faithful guardians of that most noble piece 
of workmanship, whip in hand, ready to scourge from the 
sanctuary all who, through malice or culpable ignorance, 
conceived, and sought to put into execution their designs of 
chanson £ it. 

But, may be some one will say, that the reformers of the 
sixteenth century, having had authority direct from God, 
were not bound to pay attention to man's prohibition. Let 
us examine a little into this case. Were Luther and Calvin 
sent by the Almighty to remodel the Church ? 

We may answer, that, at least, both were not sent. Why? 
Because their testimony did not agree. If both had been 
sent by God they would have told the same story. 

But, was either of them sent? We hope, before con- 
cluding, to show that neither the one nor the other had a 
divine mission to reform the Church. A mission to reform 
or modify the Church is either extraordinary or it is ordin- 
ary. An extraordinary mission is where one is sent directly 
by God Himself. The Saviour, Moses, and the Jewish 
prophets had extraordinary missions ; they proved it by 
miracles, and by most holy lives, which are the signs that 
accompany that kind of mission. 

Any man who pretends to have a divine extraordinary 
mission, without miracles and a saintly life, is an impostor. 
As to an ordinary mission, it is one which comes directly 
from God, through that authority which He has established 
in His Church here on earth. 



ALETHAURION . 



63 



Now, Luther had neither an extraordinary mission nor 
an ordinary one to reform the Church. He worked no 
miracles, besides his morals were very corrupt. 

Calvin once took it into his head to perform a miracle. 
He hired a man to play dead, that he might, at the proper 
time, raise him to life. When all things were ready for the 
miracle, and the crowd stood by, gaping at the dead man, 
Calvin arrived on the ground, and, after some prelimina- 
ries, he looked solemnly up to Heaven, then at the bogus 
dead man and called out, "In the name of Jesus Christ, 
of Nazareth, I say unto thee, arise." But the wretch did 
not arise ; the justice of God had overtaken him, just as his 
accomplice had pronounced the words. 

These are the miracles worked by the Eeformers. 
Christ and the Apostles restored men to life bodily and 
spiritually. Our Geneva Apostle took away the life of the 
body, at least in this case ; and destroyed the souls of many 
l)y his pernicious doctrines. 

Erasmus, in his own witty way, said of the Eeformers 
that, so far from raising men to life were they, not one of 
them was known to have ever cured even a lame horse. 
From all this it will appear that those men had not extra- 
ordinary missions. But ueither had they an ordinary one, 
for both were excommunicated by the existing authority. 

We shall not, at present, dwell further on this subject. 
But, by a little reflection on all we have said, it will be seen 
how fallacious is the idea, that lies at the bottom of secta- 
rian thought on the Church, viz : that the Eeformers of the 
sixteenth century had their commissions from God. Let 
us hence conclude, that each and every one of theEeformed 
Churches, far from being able to connect themselves with 
Christ through the Catholic Church, aie nothing more nor 
less than counterfeits, base impositions put in circulation 
by unscrupulous agents of Satan, calculated to deceive, and 
effectually doing so every day. If we take this view of the 
matter, which is, in fact, the only one that can with reason 



64 



ALETHAURION. 



be taken of it, we will readily see that, instead of the mark 
of holiness, each and every one of them has impressed upon 
it the brand of imposture and deceit. 

In our next we will consider the claims of the Catholic 
Church to the mark of holiness by reason of the doctrines, 
and the eminent sanctity of so many thousands of its chil- 
dren. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



HOLINESS A MARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH. 

In the two previous chapters, our main object w T as to 
throw into relief the fact that the Catholic Church was 
founded by Christ, the Saviour. This point, once fairly 
established, the rest follows as a natural consequence. 

Were we writing for the instruction of Turks or heathens, 
before undertaking to prove the holiness of Christ's Church, 
order and right reason would require that we should first 
establish on a firm basis the sanctity of Christ himself. 
But, as our efforts are principally for the benefit of those 
who admit the Saviour's divine mission, we prove the holi- 
ness of the Catholic Church by showing that it is His work. 

Having done so, we might let the matter rest, and turn 
our attention to some new questions. We are convinced, 
however, that in a work like this it is better not to be too 
brief, lest we at the same time become obscure. The pro- 
position, Christ founded the Catholic Church, and, there- 
fore, it is holy, may be clear enough and sufficient for a 
theologian, but not so to others, whose pursuits in life may 
be such as not to afford time to draw out truths to their 
full extent. 

We will, therefore, in the present chapter, bring forward 
some other reasons that go to confirm all that we have said 
about the Church being holy, because of its founder. 



ALETHAURION. 



65 



The Catholic Church is holy by reason of its doctrines. 
We cannot, as a matter of course, take up each point of our 
holy faith and show its conformity with right reason and 
revelation. This would be a lengthy task, and though an 
attempt at it would be out of place here, it is well to know 
that it has been done most effectually by scores of our the- 
ologians. Let it suffice to say that not even our ablest and 
bitterest enemies have ever succeeded in showing, in a satis- 
factory manner, that the teachings of the Church is con- 
trary to revelation and sound morals. When an attack 
is made, recourse is had to misrepresentation. And to the 
shame of many sectarians be it said that whereas they are 
willing and ready to listen to, and even applaud, the monte- 
baiik who comes before them to vomit his abuse, they will 
not, with the same readiness, come to hear a refutation of 
the calumnies uttered. 

But we lay no particular stress here on the doctrines of the 
Church, taken separately, as a mark of holiness, because a 
mark of the Church ought to be such as not to require much 
investigation to discover it. There is one doctrine, however, 
that may and ought to be spoken of in this connection. We 
refer to that regarding the necessity of confessing one's 
sins. This, in itself, cannot fail to impress any candid mind 
with the idea that the Church, which advocates and enforces 
it, has no slight claims to sanctity. Besides it is a practice 
that is well known to the most ignorant heretics. We have 
never yet met a Protestant that had not some idea, however 
distorted, of the fact that in the Catholic Church people had 
to confess their sins. 

To illustrate more fully our meaning, and show how this 
one doctrine is holy, and at the same time no small proof of 
the sanctity of the Church which puts it in practice, let us 
take an example : 

John Smith, a nominal Catholic, has, we will say, for ten 
years been in the service of William Browx, and during 
that time, at different periods, has taken from his employer 



66 



ALETHAURION. 



money to the amount of one thousand dollars. At the end 
of the ten years Smith falls sick, and feeling that his last 
day is approaching, he asks for the consolations of religion. 
A priest is sent for, who hears his confession, and in the 
progress of it inquires whether he has wronged any one in 
money matters. Then he says: * 4 Unless you restore to 
Brown the money you have taken from him, I cannot 
absolve you, neither will God forgive your sins.". The 
consequence of this is the restoration of the money to its 
lawful owner. 

Where among other se*cts can we find a doctrine or prac- 
tice like this? Where is the preacher, at the bedside of a 
rich heretic, who would dare tell him, with the knowledge 
of his heirs, that unless he restored to the rightful owners 
all ill-gotten goods, God would not receive him into his 
friendship. We have never heard of a preacher that made 
any great ado about such a matter. Neither have we known 
a case of where one refused to preach a rich man into 
heaven, simply from the fact that he had, at the time of his 
death, some few thousands belonging to his neighbor, and 
refused to part with them. 

They tell a story of an old negro woman who had stolen 
a goose from her preacher. On the following Sunday she 
came up along with the others to receive the "sacrament ." 
"Aunt Dinah," said the preacher, "ain't you forgot 'bout 
dat goose?" "Oh, you jist git out," said Aunt Dinah, 
" think I's gwine to let an old goose stand twixt me'n de 
Lord ! 5 

It is a good deal the way outside the Catholic Church. No 
one thinks of refusing to fly to the arms of Jesus on account 
of a few miserable dollars that stand between. 

Straws show which way the wind blows, and when thrown 
on the water, they indicate the course of the stream. Let us 
then take notice of a little fact whose truth will not be 
questioned. It may be compared to the straw, unimportant 
in itself, yet to the reflecting mind it tells a tale. 



ALETHAURIOX. 



67 



The State of Kentucky is the happy possessor of a num- 
ber of excellent turnpike roads, the property, in most cases, 
of private companies. Along with being a convenience to 
the public, these roads are a source of emolument to the 
stockholders, and, of course, they try to make as much out 
of them as possible. Now, what significant fact do we find 
in connection with these same "pikes?" 

Fully five-sixths, and probably a higher average, of the 
toll-gate keepers are Catholics. Why is this? Are the 
Catholics chosen because especially beloved by the stock- 
holders? Not at all — but the companies find out, by experi- 
ence, that more money is handed in at the end of the month 
by the Catholic toll-gate keepers than by others. Hence, 
they get the preference, for the children of this world are 
wise in their generation. When there is a question of gain- 
ing a few dollars, they have no trouble in recognizing the true 
Church by the honesty of its children ; but when there is a 
question of saving their own souls, they become at once 
short-sighted. Does not this fact alone tell a tale, and who 
will, after consideration of it, dare affirm that the heretics 
of this State are in ignorance invincible on the subject of the 
true Church? 

Let us now consider, briefly, another striking proof of the 
holiness of the Catholic Church. It will not be denied that 
voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity and entire obedience 
are strongly recommended in the New Testament. Christ, 
the Saviour, during his mortal life gave an example of each 
of them. His Apostles followed in His footsteps, and 
recommended to the faithful to strive in the same direction. 

Now, in which of the existing forms of religion do we find 
these counsels carried out in spirit and in truth? Where 
have you ever seen a heretic that was poor from choice ? 
Where have you met one that led a single life for greater 
perfection's sake? We have seen plenty of heretical old 
bachelors, and old heretical maids, too, that pretended to 



68 



ALETHAUEIOX. 



lead lives of celibacy from clioice. But people generally 
choose to doubt their sincerity. 

As regards entire obedience, it would be difficult to ascer- 
tain, with certainty, whether "our separated brethren " obey 
the laws of the land, for conscience sake, or whether it is, 
because the sheriff bears not the halter in vain. We may 
say, however, of all heresies, from beginning to end, that 
they are only so many rebellions against lawfully constituted 
authority. 

The bloodshed in Germany, during the tear of the peas- 
ants, and that which flowed on the feast of St. Barthole- 
mew, in France, were both occasioned by that turbulent and 
rebellious spirit, infused into their deluded followers by the 
early Reformers. 

Hence, when there is question of the practice of the Evan- 
gelical counsels, we will seek for it in vain among the sects. 
On the Contrary, in the Catholic Church, there are thous- 
ands of men and women, in religious orders, who live long 
lives in the daily practice of them. 

We have said nothing like this could be found anions: the 
sects — a mistake — there are the Shakers. But, ye powers ! 
What a parody on the religious orders of the Catholic Church. 
Take a Shaker and place him along side a Jesuit or a Bene- 
dictine, and what have you ? A Muscovy drake along side 
of an eagle — Diogenes by the side of St. Paul. 

Another proof of the holinesss of the Catholic Church is 
the fact that, whatever nations have been converted to Chris- 
tianity from Paganism, were so converted by her mission- 
aries. The tree may be known by its fruit. And the fruit 
of that old tree, which the Saviour planted, has been abun- 
dant. But, what has Protestantism done for the spread of 
Christianity? Nothing. The day is fast approaching when 
it shall be hewn down and cast into the fire, for such will be 
the fate of every tree that brings not forth good fruit. 

In our next we will speak of universality as a mark of the 
true fold. 



ALETHAURION. 



69 



CHAPTER XIV. 



CATHOLICITY A MARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH. 

The English word catholic is a modification of the Greek 
adjective JcatJiolikos, which means universal* The Catholic 
Church then, in plain English, means the universal Church. 
How it came to be so called we will explain in a future chap- 
ter. Our present purpose is to show that universality is a 
mark of the true Church. Let us examine the Scriptures 
and take note of what they say on the subject. In chapter 
xxii, verse 18, of the book of Genesis, we find a remarkable 
promise, made by God to Abraham, in these words : 

"And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because 
thou hast obeyed my voice."' 

This promise was fulfilled in no other than the Saviour, 
who was descended from Abraham, according to the flesh. 
Now, the religion of Christ is the means by which men are 
blest, and as all nations were to come in for apart of it, e. 
of the promised blessing, it follows that the means were to 
be co-extensive with the nations. In other words, the re- 
ligion of Christ was to be co-extensive with the earth. 

Parallel to this, is what we find in the ii Psalm, where 

holy David, speaking in the person of God, the Father, to 

the only Begotten Son, says : 

"Ask of me, and I will give thee the nations as thy inheritance, and as 
thy possession the confines of the earth.''' 

These, and similar texts of the Old Testament, have, as 

all admit, reference to the future Messiah, and the kingdom 

which He was to found. A kingdom not confined within the 

limits of Palestine, but taking in all nations, tribes and 

tongues. 

The New Testament also bears testimony to the fact that 
the religion, or Church of Christ was to be universal. In 



70 



ALETHAUEION. 



Matthew xxvi, we read that, when Mart Magdalene had 
poured the ointment on the Saviour's head, he declared that, 
wherever this gospel is preached over the ivhole world, that 
also which she had done would be told as a memorial of her. 
In chapter xxviii of the same gospel, we read that the 
Saviour sent his Apostles to teach and baptize all nations. 
That the Apostles carried out these commands with fidelity 
and success, we learn of St. Paul, (Coloss. i, 6,) where, 
speaking of the gospel, he says : 6 6 It is in the whole world, 
and bears fruit and grows, and among you." 

All the ancient Fathers regarded universality as a mark of 
the true Church, and made use of the fact, as an argument 
to show that the heretical sects of their times were not 
Churches of Christ, because they lacked the mark in ques- 
tion. As we do not wish to burden these pages with long 
quotations, let one, from the celebrated Origin, suffice : 
"We are called Catholics," says he, " because we believe 
as the whole world believes." 

We have said enough to show that universality is a mark 
of the true Church ; by the knowledge and aid of which any 
one, really in earnest, may find it. So persuaded, in fact, 
are men of the importance of universality, that there is not 
a sect within the length and breadth of these United States 
that does not spend yearly vast sums in order to gain it, and 
at the end they are as far off as ever. Like the frog that 
wished to swell himself up to the dimensions of a bull, and 
burst, so the sects, in trying to rival the magnitude of the 
Catholic Church, take in too much foul air, and explode. 

But, as some of these sects retain the Apostle's creed, and 
pretend to be portions of the " Holy Catholic Church," it 
is right that we should draw a clear line of distinction 
between genuine catholicity, and that spurious article, which 
is huckstered around by some of their leading men. 

William Palmer, a clergyman of the Church of England, 
and Fellow of the University of Oxford, in a work on the 
Church, published some years ago, regards catholicity as 



ALETHAUEION. 



71 



one of the marks of the true faith, and then he goes on to 
explain what he means. His theory seems to be, that the 
Church of Cheist is composed of all who believe in Him. 
This opinion we took occasion to refute, when speaking of 
the mark of unity. The Lutherans and Methodists also re- 
tain the Apostle's creed, and no doubt, give, substantially, 
the same explanation to the word Catholic found therein. 

It will now be in order to define the nature of the catho- 
licity which forms a mark of the Saviour's Church. We 
may state the case thus : 

No religious organization can "rightly lay claim to the 
mark of catholicity that is not universal in point of time, 
i. e., it must have existed as an organization from the days 
of the Apostles to our own. It must be universal in point 
of space, i. e., it must be, morally speaking, extended over 
the world. It must be universal, in point of belief, i. e., its 
members must all believe alike. 

Let us now examine into the claims of some of the exist- 
ing Christian denominations. We take first of all, the 
Roman Church, by which we mean the organization of which 
Pius IX is at present the acknowledged head. Is it catholic, 
in point of time ? 

We have been for many years past, under the impression 
that it is, and our reading of history has greatly confirmed 
us in the notion. We would, in fact, be charmed with the 
acquaintance of any one who could name a period of ten 
years from the time of St. Petek, within which it has not 
had a living representative head. 

The succession of the Popes of Rome, in direct line from 
the Prince of the Apostles, proves the catholicity of the 
Roman Church, so far as time is concerned. We are not 
ignorant, however, of the fact, that, for the space of seventy 
years, the Popes resided at Avingnon, in France; but we 
know, at the same time, that they always retained the title 
of Bishops of Rome. 

But is the Roman Church catholic, in point of place? 



72 



ALETHAURION. 



Let us begin with our own country. What State, or even 
considerable town of this Union can you find, that has not 
Catholics in it? In most of the large cities, the population 
is nearly equally divided between Catholics and non-Catho- 
lics. The Catholic Church in this country, as in the days 
of the Apostles, begins with the large cities, and gradually 
extends its civilizing influences to the small towns and 
country places. Out of a population of thirty-eight mil- 
lions, we have six, and it may be doubted whether all the 
sects put together can marshal such a membership. It must 
be remembered that vast numbers of the American people 
have never been baptized. Even thousands who join the 
various sectarian conventicles in the hurry -and flurry of a 
camp-meeting or revival, drop off again as soon as the 
excitement is over. It would, on that account, be difficult 
to tell, with certainty, the number of sectarians in- this 
country at a given time. 

From here let us pass over to Europe, that we may see - 
whether the Church of Rome is catholic there. We will 
not introduce such countries as France, Ireland, Belgium, 
Spain, Portugal, the Austrian Empire, Bavaria, and Italy, 
where the population is Catholic, almost to a man. Take 
England and Scotland. Now, there are in these countries 
fifteen bishops and seventeen hundred and twenty-seven 
priests. They, of course, represent a large Catholic popu- 
lation. In Prussia, there are fifty-six Catholic Members of 
Parliament. We take for granted that these fifty-six 
members are elected by Catholic votes. Our experience 
teaches that, however anxious non-Catholics may be to get 
into office by means of the Catholic vote, they will not, save 
in the rarest cases, support one for an office of trust, or 
emolument, in this country. We presume it is the same, 
and even worse, in Germany. The children of this world 
are wise in their generation, and they know well the impor- 
tance of having one of their own party in power. What 



ALETHAURION. 



73 



a pity that Catholics do not learn a little of them in this 
particular. 

Now, as regards the other countries of Europe, and those 
of Asia and Africa, we certainly have not government statis- 
tics to go on. Nevertheless, we know that vast numbers of 
Catholics can be found in them. Having been a student for 
„ some time in the College of the Propaganda at Rome, we had 
the pleasure of becoming acquainted with Catholic young 
men from the following places : Albania, Georgia, Greece, 
Armenia, Chaldea, Persia, Mount Libanus, Egypt, China, 
Hindoostan,Cape Colony, Australia, Senegambia, Asia Minor. 
But we have said enough to establish the fact that the Roman 
Church is, in reality, what it pretends to be Catholic or Uni- 
versal. Each of these students rep resented a large Catholic 
population in his own country, for only one or so out of a 
million can secure a place in the Propaganda. 

In our next we will consider the universality of belief in 
.the Catholic Church, as well as other items connected there- 
with. 



CHAPTER XV. 



CATHOLICITY A MARK OF THE TRUE CHURCH. 

In the last chapter, after having demonstrated, from the 
scriptures, both of the Old and New Testament, that the 
Church of Christ was to be extended over the whole world, 
we explained somewhat the nature of the universality it was 
to have. We said that it was to be universal in point of 
time, in point of place, and in the belief of its members. 
The claims of the Roman Church were then taken up and 
measured. It was found that, so far as time is concerned, 
it may well claim the mark of universality, since, without 
doubt it goes back as a*n organized society to the period 
when the Saviour lived on earth. 



74 



ALETHAUfJION . 



So far as place is concerned, we showed, to use a scriptural 
phrase, that "it is in the whole world." Before examining 
into the question of the sameness of belief, let us compare its 
numbers with those of the other religious societies that pro- 
fess belief in Christ, but will not admit the authority of His 
Vicar. 

TTe have at the present day in the world a Roman Catho- 
lic population of about 200,000,000. Some say this number 
is too small, and maintain that there are fully 25 or 30 millions 
more of Catholics. But, for the present, we will take the low- 
est average, and then compare with the sects and schismatics. 
Now, the Greek schismatics, taken along with those of the 
Russian Church, may be set down at about 30,000,000, so 
that there are nearly seven times as many Catholics as there 
are of Greek and Russian schismatics put together. Add to 
these 30,000,000, the Nestorians, Jacobites, Armenians, 
Copts, Abysinians, and others, still found in the Oriental 
countries, and you will have an aggregate of 41,000,000. 
Hence, there are nearly five times as many Catholics as there 
are schismatics of all classes. The Protestants of Europe 
are said to number 46,000,000. In this country it would 
be a fair estimate to say that the various sects taken togeth- 
er could marshal a membership of 8,000,000. This is prob- 
ably too high ; for it must be remembered that there are 
thousands in the United States who do not belong to any 
Church. They may be compared to abandoned cattle ; and 
become the property of the Church that first succeeds in 
laying hands on them. 

By adding to the number of Protestants already spoken 
of those that are to be found in Australia, and in the Brit- 
ish possession of North America, we get an aggregate of 
about 60,000,000. According to these figures we have 
about three and a third times as many Catholics as there are 
Protestants of all sects. Now, by adding to these 60,000,- 
000 of heretics, the 41,000,000 of schismatics, spoken of 
above, we get altogether 101,000,000. Thus we see that 



ALETHAUBIOX. 



75 



the Koinan, or Catholic Church has a membership nearly 
twice as large as all others — horse, foot and artillery put 
together. 

We have been induced to go into arithmetic in our pres- 
ent chapter, from a knowledge of the fact that, in many of 
the smaller towns of this State, you may find people who 
really think there are only a few Catholics in the world. 
We trust, should this article find its way into their hands, 
it may serve a good purpose by opening their eyes to the 
truth. 

We will now proceed to take into consideration the third 
element required in the mark of universality, viz : Sameness 
of belief. Do all Catholics believe alike ? We answer, 
most emphatically, they do. We have in the Church a liv- 
ing, teaching authority ; a tribunal, whose decisions, on all 
questions touching the eternal interests of the human race, 
are infallible. Hence, if any one, knowingly, refuses to 
admit its authority, or abide by its decisions, he ceases at 
once to be a living member ; and only waits the pruner's 
hook, by which he is cut off as a withered, dry and fruitless 
branch. 

To become a member of the lifeguards of Queen Victoria, 
a certain height is required in the applicant. He may be in 
other respects a specimen ; but, unless the crown of his head 
stands six feet above his heels, he will not do. We have 
also in the Church a certain standard — a chalked line — and 
he who falls under it, will not do. He may be a learned 
man, may have written books, may have had his name in 
print for years. But, if he will not say from his heart, 
without reserve, "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church, and 
in all it teaches," we brand him, and bid him stand aside 
with the condemned. 

But, some one may say : Since the Catholic Church has a 
membership of 200,000,000, and these scattered over the 
whole world, may there not be scores of men and women 
going on for years in the belief and practice of heresy, and 



76 



ALETHAURION. 



the Pope and bishops be none the wiser? This supposition 
is groundless. The organization of the Church is such as 
to make it impossible. Take the example of a man who 
treads on a thorn and wounds his foot. How long does it 
take the head to become aware of the fact? Not long ; for 
the nerves will almost in an instant, communicate a knowl- 
edge of it to the brain. It is thus in the Church. It too has 
a nervous system, and the evil that any member suffers is 
speedily communicated to the head. Let us suppose that a 
certain member of one of the parish Churches in Blank 
City, should publicly deny his belief in the infallibility of 
the Pope, or in the power of forgiving sins claimed by the 
priests. What would be the consequence? He would excite 
the indignation of his fellow Catholics, and the thing would 
soon come to the rector's ears. If, after admonition, l.e 
still continued in his ways, leaving on the people's mind a 
wrong impression what Catholic doctrine is, the pastor 
would, in all probability, request him to make a public re- 
traction, and, in case he refused, excommunicate him, as a 
punishment for his offences and a warning to others. He 
might then talk as much and as stupidly as he pleased about 
infallibility and confession also. 

Should even a bishop, yielding to the temptation of Satan, 
resist the teaching authority of the Church, it would not be 
long before the fact became generally known, and the Pope, 
who has the care of all the Churches, would force him either 
to abandon heresy, or resign his charge. As to the Pope 
himself, we know that, by the mercy of God, in matters ap- 
pertaining to faith and morals, his teaching can never become 
tainted with heresy. 

Thus it is in the true Church. All who are capable of 
erring, can and will, in case of error, be easily detected. 
Take the case of that unfortunate man, Hyacinthe. How 
quickly his defection was discovered, and himself branded. 
While yet high in favor, he made a speech in Paris, in which 
he said, there are at present three religious systems in the 



ALETHAURIOX. 



77 



world, viz: the Catholic, the Protestant and Jewish, and 
these three are equal in the sight of God. Scarcely had the 
words been pronounced, when a man rose in the assembly 
and said he spoke falsehood — that a priest of the Church 
ought not to use such language. The matter did not end 
there. Hyacixthe was commanded by his superiors to 
retract. He refused, and was cut off. 

What we have said of Hyacixthe may be repeated of Dol- 
lixger. While the Ecumenical Council was in session, he 
was, though secretly, at the head of a party in Germany 
opposed to the declaration of the Pope's infallibility. But 
his scheming did not avail. The Fathers of the Council, 
following the light of the Holy Ghost, declared that the 
Pope's infallibility is a truth revealed by God, and hence- 
forth to be believed by all Catholics as an article of faith. 

It remained to be seen whether Dollixger would submit ► 
But the demon of pride got the better of him. He said " I 
will not believe," and he ceased to be a Catholic. He was 
nailed to the tree of heresy. From all this it will appear how 
difficult, even impossible, it is for a man, who pretends to be 
a Catholic, to remain in the Church and publicly profess 
doctrines which it condemns. There is always at hand an 
authority that forces him either to one side or the other. 

We have now seen that the Koman Church is Universal 
in point of time and place, as well as in the belief of its 
members : It remains that we examine the claims of some of 
the sects and schismatics. This will not take long. On the 
score of time, there is positively no sect nor schismatic 
society, that goes back, as an organized body, to the time of 
Christ. On the score of place, it is well known there are 
no Protestants, we mean natives, nor Protestant Churches r 
in most countries of Asia. You might travel through Persia, 
Armenia, Syria, in fact through the greater part of Turkey, 
and not find a Protestant Church, and no Protestant, except 
may be Brother Bibles, the English missionary, with his- 



78 



ALETHAURION. 



wife and family of children. What we have said of Pro- 
testants, in the Oriental countries, maybe said of the Greeks 
and other schismatics in the West — none universal in point 
of place. We deem it altogether unnecessary to mention 
the name of any particular sect, for Protestantism in gene- 
ral is more extended than any one of its sects. Hence, 
when the whole does not fill the bill, a part cannot. As to 
sameness of belief among sects, we know that a fundamen- 
tal principle held by all, destroys even the hope of such a 
thing. 

In our next we will consider how the true Church got the 
name of Catholic. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



ABOUT NAMES. 

In the past chapter we considered the third mark of the 
true Church, viz : universality or catholicity. We inquired 
into its nature, and found that any Church laying claim to 
it, must be catholic in point of time, in point of place, and 
in the belief of its members. 

We then took occasion to show that the Roman Church 
goes back, as an organized society, to the days of Christ 
and the Apostles. This proves it to be catholic, in point of 
time. So far as place is concerned, we found it spread over 
the whole world. As to the belief of its members, they 
must agree or cease to be Catholics. There is in it a su- 
preme, infallible tribunal commissioned by God to direct 
men in the way of salvation, and to its decisions all must 
bow who would be saved. 

No other Church is thus universal. They all began to 
exist at periods subsequent to the time of the Apostles. 
Neither is any one of them spread over the whole world. 
We have, in fact, some sects in this country that do not go 



ALETHAUEION . 



79 



a stone's throw beyond the length and breadth of the United 
States. There are others that have members in the British 
dominions ; in this country, and in parts of Germany ; but 
no where else. But it is useless to repeat what every one 
knows to be a fact. There never was, there is not, and there 
never will be a universal heretical sect. Universality belongs, 
alone, to that Church which Christ founded. It alone sub- 
sists in all ages, teaches all nations, maintains all truth. 

Now, before passing on to consider the fourth mark, viz : 
Apostolicity ', it may not be out of place nor uninteresting, 
that we make a digression. We desire to ventilate certain 
questions respecting the name of the true Church. These 
are : 

First, How does it happen that the Church, founded by 
the Saviour, is called the Catholic? 

Second, When did it, for the first time, receive that 
name, and who gave it? 

Third, Is the name Catholic, an appropriate one? 

Fourth, Could not another, and a more expressive one, 
be chosen? 

Let us take these points up, separately, and examine them 
at our leisure. 

First, How does it happen that the Saviour's Church is 
called Catholic? In order to understand this, it will be nec- 
essary to take a glance at the history of Christianity, towards 
the latter part of the first and the beginning of the second 
centuries. Now, most persons, not read in history, are apt 
to think, that, before Luther, the Catholic Church was the 
only one in existence. We speak here of Christian organi- 
zations. This idea is true in a general sense, but false, if 
we wish to be accurate. That, before Luther's time, there 
was no other but the Catholic Church is true, in the same 
sense that we now say, France is a Catholic nation. We 
mean, thereby, that the vast majority of its people profess 
the Catholic faith, and that the influence of its government 
goes to support principles advocated by the Catholic Church ; 



80 



ALETHAURION , 



but we do not deny thereby, that in France there are many 
infidels and heretics. It is in the same sense, we say the 
Catholic was the only religion before the sixteenth century. 
We do not at all deny there were, even then, heretical sects ; 
but they were obscure, and now scarcely deserve mention. 
The truth is, that, even from the days of the Apostles, and 
while they were yet living, side by side with the good grain, 
and flourishing in patches here and there, could be found also 
the cockle of heresy. 

But, we can imagine some one in surprise, asking, What! 
Is it possible that there were heretics even while the Apos- 
tles were yet living? Well ; what foolish people they must 
have been ! Why did they not go to Peter, James or John, 
and learn of them. 

Yes. It was not only possible for men to run into heresy 
in the days of the Apostles, but it is a fact that several did. 

But, what pretext did these men urge for differing with 
the Apostles? 

The very same that every heretic from Sdiox Magus to 
Dr. Dollixger, has found ready and at hand — the right to 
think and decide for themselves on all religious questions ; 
the right of setting up their own private judgment against 
the authority of the Church. 

Those heretics that lived in the days of the Apostles, 
gave as reasons for differing with them, that the Apostles 
being simple, ignorant men, did not understand thoroughly 
what Christ taught. It so happened, however, that though 
the Apostles, in the opinion of these wise heretics, were sim- 
ple and ignorant, by far the greater number, converted from 
paganism as well as Judaism, stood with them, whereas our 
heretical Solomons had but few followers. 

Now, as difference in belief naturally gives rise to destruc- 
tions in name, hence, even at this early period, there was call 
for a term, to distinguish the assembly of the faithful from 
those vain and conceited heretics. What name then was 
best to be chosen? That of Christian would not do, for the 



ALETHAUKION. 



81 



heretics pretended also to be Christians, and were so called 
by their pagan neighbors. The name Disciple would not do, 
for the same reason. The heretics contended they were, 
themselves, the true Disciples of the Saviour, because they 
understood the true meaning of his doctrines. 

Hence, there was need of a word, one that would, for all 
time to come, distinguish the Saviour's Church from every 
human institution. That word should express a peculiarity 
of the true fold, that no sect could lay claim to without a 
manifest lie. 

Now, what was there about the Church that acknowledged 
the Apostles as teachers, which none of the sects of that day 
could pretend to ? It was this. The Church of the Apostles 
was spread over the civilized world, whereas, the heretical 
sects were confined to particular kingdoms, or single cities. 
Hence, from the very nature of the case, the Church that 
held to the Apostles was called the Universal or Catholic 
Church, whereas each sectarian conventicle was called by 
the name of its founder, or after the town or city where it 
first started, or had the greatest number of members. 

This was how it happened that the true Church received 
the name of Catholic. 

Now, we may wonder exceedingly how men, in the days 
of the Apostles, could have been guilty of such folly as to 
turn their backs on Sts. Peter and Paul, and others who 
worked miracles and led most holy lives, to follow monte- 
banks like Simon Magus, and other heresiarchs of primitive 
times. Yet on reflection, this is no more strange than what 
takes place at the present day, under our own eyes. Do 
not men now become Free Masons, Mormons, Campbellities, 
Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, etc., even though they 
have had the experience of eighteen centuries before them, 
and the most refulgent proofs of the divine origin of the 
Catholic Church shining .wherever the eye is turned? 

In the next chapter we will take up point No. 2, viz : 
When and by whom the true Church was called Catholic. 



82 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER XVII. 



ABOUT NAMES. 

When, and by whom, was the true Church called Catho- 
lic? We have already partly answered this in chapter xvi. 
It was so called by the Apostles. But, have we any posi- 
tive proof of the fact from history? We have. It is found 
in the Creed, and, every time we repeat it, we come over 
the words, 4 'I believe in the holy Catholic Church." 

Now, though all know the Apostle's creed, but few, prob- 
ably, while repeating the words, reflect upon its historical 
importance. The creed of the Apostles, is so called for two 
reasons : 

First, To distinguish it from that of St. Athanasius, as 
also from the Nicene creed. 

Second, Because the Apostles composed it. 

Should we succeed in establishing this fact, we would 
have no further need of proof to show that they gave the 
name of Catholic to the true Church. 

As to whether the Apostles were the authors of the creed, 
or not, is a question of fact, and we may weigh it in the bal- 
ance, as we would others of the same kind. The proofs for 
or against the genuinity of any document, may be classed 
under two heads, viz : Intrinsic and extrinsic evidences. 

Intrinsic evidence, is that found in the document itself. 
Thus, if one should, at the present day, find an old manu- 
script letter in bad Latin, with Cicero's name to it, the fact 
of the Latin being faulty would be an intrinsic proof that 
Cicero did not write it. 

Extrinsic evidence of a fact is that which is gathered from 
the writings of contemporary authors, or other public monu- 
ments. Thus, that Lord Nelson fell at the battle of Tra- 
falgar, we know from writers who lived at the time he died 



ALETHAURIOX . 



83 



and from monuments erected to his memory, that bear tes- 
timony beyond all suspicion, to the fact. 

So far as instrinsic evidence is concerned, we certainly can 
not prove the Apostles wrote the creed, which goes by that 
name. It could have been composed a century after their 
death, by any one who knew what they taught. But, while 
we willingly admit this, we, at the same time, maintain there 
is nothing in the creed itself to show that they did not com- 
pose it. On the contrary, its doctrines are the same as those 
set forth in the Scriptures of the New Testament, of whose 
authority there never has been a doubt. 

What we may not be able, however, to effect by intrinsic 
we may very readily accomplish by extrinsic evidence. To 
this we now invite attention. The first whose testimony we 
introduce is Irexeus. He was a disciple of Polycarp, 
bishop of Smyrna, and consequently had abundant oppor- 
tunities of knowing the exact truth of that whereof he spoke, 
for Polycarp was the companion and disciple of the Apos- 
tle Johx. Irexeus suffered martydom in the year 202, 
hence his testimony belongs to the latter half of the second 
century. He wrote a treatise, in twenty-four books, against 
the heresies of his day, and we quote his words found in 
book 1, chapter 2, of this work : 

'•The Church planted throughout the whole world, even to the ends of 
the earth, has received from the Apostles and their disciples, that belief, 
which is in one God, Father Almighty," etc. 

No one requires to be told that the words' given in italics 

are those of the creed. The next from whom we quote is 

Tertulliax. He was a priest of Carthage, and died about 

the year 245. He wrote treatises on a variety of subjects, 

from one of which, de Prescrip Hcer, chapter 37, we take 

the following : 

"We walk by that rule, which the Church, from the Apostles, the Apos- 
tles from Christ, Christ from God, has given. 

Now, by the word rule, regula, Tertulliax means the 

creed, as he explains in portions of his other works. See 



84 



ALETHAURION. 



Chap, i, de Yeland. Virg. As we do not wish to multiply 
quotations from the Fathers in short and elementary essays 
like these, we must content ourselves with giving only one 
more, which we clip from the works of Ambrose, Bishop of 
Milan. In his seventh epistle, which is to Pope Siricius, 
he says : 6 'The creed of the Apostles, which the Roman 
Church always guards and preserves pure, is to be be- 
lieved." This testimony belongs to the latter half of the 
fourth century. 

We could give scores of other quotations from the 
Fathers, all going to show that the belief of the Church 
from the beginning is, that the creed, of which we are 
speaking, was composed directly by the Apostles. 

Since, then, the Apostles are the authors of the creed, it 
follows that it was they, and no others, gave the name of 
Catholic to the Church. Now, if any one should deny that 
.the creed w T as composed by the Apostles, historical fairness 
would require that he should give a satisfactory explanation 
of how it came to be universally believed in the Church, 
from the earliest times, that they were its authors. 

We have given the names of only a few of the more an- 
cient writers who mention it, and these merely allude to a 
fact, that appeared to have been well understood, and 
universally received in their day. We could give the testi- 
mony of other writers, such as that of Ruffinus, much more 
explicit, but we prefer the more ancient. 

Now, some one may say : Do we not read in the scrip- 
tures that the Disciples of our Lord were first called 
Christians at Antioch? Consequently, the Church founded 
by the Saviour must have been called the Christian Church. 
Why, then go on saying it was called Catholic by the 
Apostles, when there are such clear scriptural proofs to the 
contrary ? 

We trust, with a little patience on the part of the reader, 
to make it clear that there is nothing, whatever, in the 
scripture that contradicts what we have said. 



ALETHAURION. 



85 



The word Christian occurs three, and only three, times in 
the New Testament. Let us take up these passages and 
consider the circumstances of each case. 

First — In Acts xi, 26, mention is made of the fact that 
Paul and Barnabas, having remained a year at Antioch, 
taught so great a multitude, that the Disciples were there, for 
the first time, called Christians. Now comes the question : 
By whom were they so called? Was it by the Apostles? 
Evidently not. For, if they had given the name, it could not 
have been said the Disciples were called, but they took the 
name Christians. Who then gave the name? It must have 
come from either a Jewish or a Pagan source. The Jews 
would never have given it, for it would have been a clear 
acknowledgement that Jesus was the Christ. A fact which 
they did not then admit, nor do they now. 

It was no other than the Pagan Greeks of Antioch that 
succeeded in fastening the excellent nickname, as they 
thought, of Christians, on the followers of the Saviour. 
The idea was to bring ridicule and disgrace by that name, on 
the assembly of the faithful. 

Crucifixion, in ancient times, was a punishment inflicted 
only on the worst criminals and the meanest slaves. The 
Pagans of Antioch knew that Christ had been crucified by 
the Jews ; hence, as they heartily hated his followers, they 
wished them to be generally known by the name of a public 
malefactor. 

Let it be borne in mind then, that it was not the Apostles 
but the Pagans that first gave the name of Christians to the 
Saviour's Disciples. It does not even appear, from this place 
that the name was accepted by those to whom it was given. 

The second passage of scripture in which the word Chris- 
tian occurs is to be found in the same book of Acts, xxvi, 
27. Paul there explains, in the presence of King Agrippa, 
how he became a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. Towards 
the close of his discourse, the King said: "Thou almost 
persuadest me to become a Christian.' Let it be observed, 



86 



ALETHAURION. 



also, that it is an unbeliever who here makes use of the 
word. Neither have we any evidence going to show that 
Paul accepts the name given, by this King, to himself and his 
brethren in the faith. "Would to God," said he, "that in 
little and in much not only thou, but also all that hear me 
this day, should become as I also am, except these chains." 

The natural way of answering the King's remark, on this 
occasion, would have been, to say : " 1 would to God that 
not only thou, but all, etc., would become Christians.''' But 
Paul knew in what sense the King, and the pagans gener- 
ally, used the word, hence he does not repeat it. 

It must be admitted, however, that after this name of 
Christian had got into general use among the pagans, the 
Apostles accepted it, in what we may call its generic sense. 
This will appear evident from a glance at chap, iv, 1st Ep. 
of Peter. After exhorting the faithful to lead holy lives, 
he says: "Let none of you suffer as a homicide or as a 
thief, but if as a Christian let him not blush, but let him 
glorify God in that name." 

Here also plain allusion is made to the pagan use of the 
word. From all this it must appear evident that there is 
nothing whatever in the scriptures that, in the least, contra- 
dicts what we have said about the true Church having been 
called Catholic by the Apostles. The truth is, that, from 
the very commencement, the true Church has had two names ; 
the one Christian, given by the pagans, it enjoys in common 
with the heretical sects ; the other, Catholic, given by the 
Apostles, it never has, and never will share with any other. 

In our next we will consider the question : Is the name 
Catholic an appropriate one for the true fold. 



ALETHAUEION. 



87 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



ABOUT NAMES. 

Is the name Catholic an appropriate one for the true 
Church? We took occasion to show, in the chapter xvii, that 
it was the Apostles who first gave it. From this alone, we 
may, with the utmost confidence, conclude that it must be a 
good one. We, Catholics, do not seek for any better authority 
than that of the Apostles. What they did and said, is law 
and gospel to us. We might, then, after having shown that 
the Apostles gave the name, let the matter rest. 

But, that the reader may catch a glimpse of the wisdom 
displayed in the selection of this peculiar word, we will state 
a few facts and principles connected with the system of 
nomenclature in general. 

About the first example in history, of the giving of names, 
is to be found in the second chapter of Genesis. It is there 
said that God caused all the animals, which He had created, 
to pass before Adam, and that he gave each a name. Now, 
though not stated for fact, it is probable that Adam did not 
give names that were arbitrary. It is more than likely that 
the term chosen by him, as the name of each animal respect- 
ively, expressed a peculiarity or distinguishing trait thereof. 
Thus, we should suppose he gave the lion a name expressive 
of courage and strength ; the fox one expressive of cunning. 
That this was the system adopted, may be gathered from 
the fact, that, a short time after, he gave the name of Eva 
to the woman that God had created as his helper and 
companion. 

Now the word Eva, in the Hebrew and Chaldaic languages, 
signifies living, and, it is stated, in express words, verse 20, 
chapter iii, of Genesis, that she was so called, " because she 
was the mother of all the living." 



88 



ALETHAURIOX. 



Moreover, we know that most of the names given to men, 
in the Old Testament, especially in the primitive ages, are 
not arbitrary, but rather expressive of some circumstance of 
their birth, or destiny they were to fulfill. Thus, the great 
Jewish lawgiver, Moses, was so called, because saved from 
the waters of the Nile. The word Moses signifies saved from 
water. Isaac, which means laughter, was the name given 
the son of Abraham, because his mother laughed, on hear- 
ing from the angel that she should bring forth a son in her 
old age. Jacob, which means supplanter, was the title given 
the second son of Isaac, because he supplanted his brother 
Esau. 

Omitting scores of the other names found in the Old Tes- 
tament, which are expressive of facts past, or future des- 
tinies, we know from the New Testament, that the venerable 
name of Jesus, meaning a saviour, was given to our Lord, 
because He was, by his death and passion, to redeem and 
save mankind. 

Not only among the people of God was this system of no- 
menclature followed ; we find it also greatly in vogue among 
the pagans. The celebrated Roman dictator, Cincinnatus, 
was so called because he was a curly head. The great epic 
poet of Greece, who was at one time called Hermogenes, 
had his name changed to Homeros, by his countrymen, after 
he had grown old and ran blind. O Meros, in Greek, sig- 
nifies the blind man. 

This system of name -giving, which is in fact the most 
perfect, arising as it does from the nature and circumstan- 
ces of each case, has never been totally abandoned. 
Yet, in modern times, a more arbitrary system has generally 
been adopted. Nevertheless, even now, the old system of 
nomenclature is carried out in what are called nicknames. 
These are, in many cases, very expressive and truly amus- 
ing. 

Some years ago, while the writer of this was a student at 
a certain college in this country, there was in the institution 



ALETHAURION. 



89 



at the same time, a young man who went by the name of 
Snipe. It was impossible to look at him and not laugh. 
His nose, which was by far the most conspicuous of his fea- 
tures, was long, thin, and pointed. His eyes, head, and 
neck also looked snipish. After a time, we learned that his 
real name was Smith, which same bit of knowledge was a 
great relief, considering the fact, that we could never look 
the fellow straight in the face, and say Mr. Sxipe, without 
bursting. Now, this young man, Smith, struggled manfully 
for from five to six months against the name. But all to no 
purpose ; like the fly in the spider's web, the more he 
struggled against it, the closer it stuck to him. He finally 
had to yield, so that, in our time, he would answer to no 
other name than Snipe. 

As it happened to this young man, so has it to most of 
the sects of our times. Nearly all of them wear nicknames. 
They go by titles which the malice of their enemies first im- 
posed on them, and which they were themselves, in the 
course of time, by the logic of facts, obliged to accept. 

Let us take a few examples. The members of the Church 
of England are, at the present day, called Episcopalians. 
Now, in the beginning, they greatly desired to be called 
Catholics, and were opposed to any other name. When 
Henry VIII quarrelled with the Pope, he did not wish to 
change his own religion, nor that of his subjects. All he 
aimed at was to cut off the Pope, and become head of the 
Church in England. But Hexry attempted an impossibility. 
No one can be a Catholic who does not admit the Pope's 
jurisdiction. 

Hence, as there arose a difference in faith, a different 
name came also into existence. At what exact time the 
Church of England got the name of Episcopal, we are not 
now prepared to say. It was probably not until there arose 
dissenters, who denied the authority of the bishops, and 
modeled their Church government according to the Presby- 
terian plan. 



90 ALETHAUKION. 

As to the word presbyterian , applied to one of the hereti- 
cal sects of our time, it comes from the Latin word presby- 
ter, a priest. The members of the sect in question main- 
tain that a priest is the highest officer in the Church, and, 
because they made such a noise about it, they were nick- 
named Presbyterians, a title which stuck to them, as Snipe 
did to Smith. 

The Methodists are so called, on account of the methodi- 
cal life, said to have been led by the founder of the sect, 
John Wesley. In 1729 Mr. Wesley, who was then one of 
the Fellows in Lincoln College, Oxford, took it into his 
head that, so far as religion was concerned, the whole world 
had gone, and was going wrong. So, in company with 
fourteen others, he began to lengthen his face, turn up the 
whites of his eyes, and give other indications of religious 
plethory. Their strict deportment soon attracted the atten- 
tion of the students, and this little squad of fourteen was 
christened "the godly club." This name, however, did not 
cling, for they soon got that of Methodists ; the one by which 
their followers are known at the present day. 

There is, also, a sect that counts a good many members 
in the State of Kentucky, in the mountains of Virginia, and 
in Missouri, that does not, as yet, appear to have a fixed 
name to go by. The one we allude to, is called by some, 
the Reformed Church ; by others the members are dubbed 
Campbellites ; others, again, call them disciples ; they, them- 
selves, prefer to be called Christians. 

Thjs sect, as an organization, dates back as far as the 
year 1827. An Irishman, named Alexander Campbell, 
with his father, Thomas Campbell, Walter Scott, W. B. 
Stone, and some others, appear to have been the founders. 

Campbell was first a Presbyterian ; but after having 
immigrated to this country, he joined the Baptists, with 
whom he did not long remain. But, whether the Baptists 
excommunicated him, or he the Baptists, are questions, that, 



ALETHAUKION. 91 

up to the present time, we have not had the leisure to in- 
vestigate. _ 

The followers of Mr. Campbell object to being, called 
Canipbellites. Yet, we give it as our opinion, that if the 
sect should exist for any considerable time, say from fifty 
to seventy-five years, that is, in all probability, the name by 
which it will be known. 

Most of the members of the other sects appear to have 
taken a fancy to that name, and, as in the case of the boy 
Snipe, they will in the end succeed in fastening it where it 
belongs. With these general observations, on the philoso- 
phy of naming, we return to the original question : 

Is Catholic a good appellation for the Saviour's Church? 
We reply, a more appropriate one could not possibly have 
been selected. It is in accordance with the oldest and most 
perfect system of nomenclature. It expresses a destiny 
which the true Church was, and is, to fulfill, viz : To teach 
all nations, and to remain in existence until the end of time. 
"Going forth," says the Saviour to its first .bishops, "teach 
all nations, * * * I am with you all days, even to the con- 
summation of the world." — Matthew xviii, 20. 

'The name Catholic, moreover, is such that no existing 
sect can lay claim to it, and have even the shadow of reason 
on its side. They all began at various periods subsequent 
to the time of the Apostles. We speak of the sects now in 
existence. Hence there is a want of universality, in point 
of time, and no possibility of remedying the defect. As to 
universality in point of place, judging from the past, sooner 
will we hear Gabkiel's trump than the news of a universal 
sect. 

In our next we will consider the question, Could not a 
name more appropriate than Catholic, be found for the true 
Church? 



92 



ALETHAUKION . 



CHAPTER XIX. 



ABOUT NAMES. 

Could not some other name more appropriate than Cath- 
olic, be found, as an appellation for the true Church? Let 
us examine the scriptures of the New Testament and see if 
we cannot find a better. Now, in the xv chap, of St. John's 
gospel, we read that the Saviour called the Apostles Friends: 
"I will not call you servants," says He, "for the servant 
knows not what his master doth, but I have called you 
friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard of my 
Father, I have made known to you." Here then we have 
a name, given by the highest authority that was ever on 
earth, to the assembly of the faithful ; composed at that 
time of the Apostles. Would it not be proper, then, that 
we should drop the word Catholic and call ourselves the 
Society of Friends. There is, in fact, a sect, the members 
of which desire to be called by that name. But the malice 
of their enemies has fastened on them that other one of 
Quakers, by which they are most generally known. 

A slight examination, however, of the text in question, 
will convince us that the Saviour, on that occasion, had no 
intention of giving such a name to His Church. I call you 
friends, says He to the Apostles, because all things 1 have- 
heard of my Father I have made known to you. The words 
were evidently addressed to the Apostles exclusively. Be- 
sides, we know that He called Judas His friend, even after 
the wretch had betrayed Him. Now, as a name ought to be 
such as to include all, and as the word friends is applied 
only to a few, via : those to whom the Saviour had in a spe- 
cial manner revealed the will of His Father, it is evident 
that He did not intend it as the word by which His follow- 
ers, one and all, were to be known. 



ALETHAURION. 



93 



Moreover, the name is too indefinite. All who believe in 
Christ pretend to be his friends. 

There is another word, also frequently used in the scrip- 
tures, especially in the writings of Paul, to designate the 
assembly of the faithful. It is that of Saints. In Pbilip- 
pians iv, the Apostle says: "All the saints salute you." 
Why not follow the example of Paul and call ourselves 
Saints, instead of Catholics? There are others of our day 
who are far ahead of us in this particular. We refer to the 
Mormons, who call themselves Saints of these latter days. 
Before deciding on a change, however, we should bear in 
mind that the name of any society ought to be such as to 
exclude none who really belong to it ? Now, are all the mem- 
bers of the true Church saints? We think not. All, are 
indeed called to be saints. But there is a vast difference 
between being called to be saints, and being saints. Neither 
the Saviour Himself, nor any of his Apostles, has given us 
to understand that all the members of His Church militant 
would be entirely sinless. "The kingdom of heaven is lik- 
ened to a net cast into the sea gathering together all man- 
ner of fishes." Matt, xiii, 47. As in that net there were 
bad and good fishes, so in the Church, there will be saints 
and sinners until the end of time. Daily experience shows 
us how liable to fall are even men of the best intentions. 
They may be compared to old garments — one rent is scarcely 
patched up when a new one calls for attention. And blessed is 
the man who, like the publican in the Gospel, calls himself 
a sinner, and asks God to be merciful to him, whilst ac- 
cursed is he, who, like the proud pharisee, esteems himself 
a saint, when God at the same time may have rendered 
quite a different judgment. 

We pass by many other names mentioned iu the scriptures, 
such as Church o/God, Church of the living God, doers of 
the ivord, &c. Let us consider briefly the name Disciples 9 
or Disciples of Christ. The word Disciples occurs 259 
times in the New Testament, and is used to designate, either 



94 



ALETHAURIOX. 



the followers of John the Baptist, or those of the Saviour. 
Would it not then, be meet, just, and proper, that we should 
lay aside the name of Catholic, and take unto ourselves the 
unctious appellation of Disciples of Cheist? 

In order to give a right answer to this question it will be 
necessary to take into consideration the meaning of the 
word Disciple, in connection with certain facts mentioned 
in the New Testament. The English word Disciples is from 
the Latin discipulus, and that from the verb discere which 
means to learn. A Disciple then means nothing more nor 
less than one who is learning, and is correlative to magist'er, 
a master or teacher. 

The same distinction may be observed in the Greek, the 
language in which all the books of the New Testament, if 
we except Matthew's gospel, were originally written. The 
word matlietes, is used, in the language we speak of for dis- 
ciple, and it means exactly what discipilus does in Latin 
a learner. Its correlative is didaskalos, a master or teacher. 
Now, a man may be said to remain a Disciple, or learner, 
until such time as he knows all his master is able to impart, 
in the way of information. When he has got that far, he 
can then no longer be called a learner, but maybe considered 
learned. Furthermore, if his master should send him to 
teach others, he has then clearly the right, not only to cast 
aside the title of mathetes, or Disciple, but to assume that 
of didaskalos or teacher. 

Now arises the question : Did there come a period in the 
life-time of the Apostles, when they ceased to be learners, 
or in other words, Disciples, and began to be masters and 
teachers themselves ? A slight examination of some few pas- 
sages of scripture will convince us that such was the case. 

In John xv, Christ says to the Apostles, 6 t All things 
whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known 
to you." The Saviour had then, evidently, communicated 
to them all that knowledge which He had received from the 
Father. We speak here, of course, only of those truths 



ALETHAURIOX. 



95 



which the Eternal Father had commissioned His Son to 
teach mankind. Christ did not communicate all His knowl- 
edge to the Apostles ; that would have been impossible. 

Along with this we read in the same gospel, xx chap., the 
words : " As the Father hath sent me, so also I send you." 
Now the Eternal Father had sent our Lord with a full and 
complete knowledge of all the truths which it is expedient 
for man to know, in order to be saved. The Apostles 
learned all these from Him. 

In chap, xiv, of the same book, we read. 

"The Paraclete, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my 
name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your recollection what- 
soever I shall have said to you." 

From these various scriptures it is clear that the Apostles, 
at least after the Holy Ghost had descended upon them, 
had ceased to be Disciples, or learners, and had become, in 
a word, learned. But, not only did they cease to be Disci- 
ples, they became Piasters, or teachers. "Go forth," says 
the Saviour to them, "and teach all nations." Matt, xviii, 
19. 

In fact St. Paul, though not one of the twelve, yet 
an Apostle, calls himself, ii Tim. i chap., "a teacher of the 
nations." 

We have not an example, out of the 259 cases spoken of, 
where an Apostle, after the day of Pentecost, styles him- 
self, or is styled by others, a Disciple. Whenever they are 
so called, allusion is made to circumstances in their lives, 
anterior to the descent of the Holy Ghost. It would be 
as contrary to the ordinary use of language among men, to 
style them Disciples, after they had learned all their master 
could teach, as it would be to call Eev. Ichabod Skeggs, 
Professor at the Academy of Tadpoleville, a school boy. 

Since these things are so — it is plain that the term Disci- 
pies will not do as a name for the assembly of the faith- 
ful. We can take no appellation that would exclude the 



96 



ALETHAUEION . 



Apostles. They, too, were members of the true Church — its 
first doctors. 

In our next we will take up the word "Christian." 



CHAPTER XX. 



ABOUT NAMES. 

Could not a name more appropriate than Catholic, be 
chosen for the true Church? In the last chapter we took up 
some titles, that, at first sight, appeared to have scriptural 
support, but which, on closer examination we found defective. 
In the present, we purpose weighing the claims of the word 
Christian. Now, as Christ is confessedly the founder of 
the true Church, is it not right and just that it should be called 
after him? Let us then put* the question fairly : Which is 
the better name for the Church, that of Catholic, or that of 
Christian? In reply, we pursue the method said to have 
been much practiced by that celebrated Athenian philoso- 
pher, Socrates, and which is called after him the Socratic 
method. We will answer the question by asking another. 
Take a man whose name is John Smith ; which is the better 
name for the individual in question, John, or Smith? 

You reply, there is no better or worse about it ; there is 
no opposition in the case ; the man's full name is John 
Smith, and he is sometimes called John, and sometimes 
Smith. We reply, after the same fashion, when asked to 
render judgment on the relative merits of the appellations, 
Catholic and Christian, there is no opposition. The 
name, in full, reads, Catholic Christian Church. It is 
sometimes called by one, sometimes by the other of these 
titles. 

But let us examine a little further, and take John Smith 
as an illustrating medium. When is our friend called John, 
and when does he go by the euphonious name of Smith? 



ALETHAURION. 



97 



These are the questions now. At home, where all are called 
Smiths, he is simply called John, Smith being understood, 
but rarely expressed. When abroad, in company with 
Brown, Jones, Robinson and Snooks, he is called Smith, 
without the John. Why is this the case? The distinction 
is founded on one of the general laws of language. In every 
civilized tongue, and for aught we know in barbarous ones 
also, there are two classes of words, the one called generic, 
the other specific. A generic word is one applied to the ag- 
gregate of individuals or things, containing two or more 
species. A specific word is one used to distinguish an indi- 
vidual belonoin^ to a class. 

The word man is generic, because applied to a class com- 
posed of various species. European, African, Asiatic are, in 
this connection, specific words. Now the general laws that 
regulate the use of language, forbid the application of the 
generic word to any of the species, except in two cases, of 
which we shall speak hereafter. 

With these observations, we scarcely need say why it is, 
that the man spoken of, is called John at home, and Smith 
abroad. Smith is generic, where all are Smiths, and conse- 
quently ought not to be used ; whereas, outside of the family, 
it becomes specific, and may then be employed. From all 
we have said, it will not be difficult for a member of the true 
Church to tell when he ousfht to call himself a Catholic and 
when a Christian. If among Pagans, such as Chinese or 
Japanese, he may, if asked concerning his belief, reply — I am 
a Christian. The word is specific and entirely proper, under 
the circumstances. If in a land where heresy prevails, he 
must say — I am a Catholic. 

Thus, we see, that the name Catholic given originally by 
the Apostles, to distinguish the true fold from heretical con- 
venticles, has ever since stood at its post, and done faithful 
service ; wmereas the title of Christian, given at first by the 
Pagans, has continued, even to our times, to distinguish all 



98 



ALETHAURION. 



who believe in Christ from those who have not heard of 
His name 3 or will not admit His divine mission. 

But, it may be asked, is it ever lawful to use the generic 
term instead of the specific. In other words, can any one 
of the existing sects, take the name of Christian to its indi- 
vidual self ? We reply : The use of language among men does 
not permit such an appropriation. Some fifty years ago, 
there sprang into existence in Virginia, and in portions of 
the Carolinas, a sect, the members of which called them- 
selves simply "Christians." They would be satisfied with 
no other name, and would have been highly insulted if it 
had been denied them. This organization was different 
from what is popularly known as the Reformed, or Camp- 
bellite Church of the present day ; the members of which 
also desire to be called Christians. 

Now, the Virginia sect alluded to, served as an occasion 
for coining a new word. People seeing how touchy they 
were on the question, wished, for peace sake, to comply 
with their whims, as far as good sense and the proper use of 
words would permit. But, as the word Christian had long 
since become generic, in fact had been so from the first ages 
of Christianity, there arose a feeling in the minds of many 
that it was wrong, in a rhetorical and logical sense, to apply 
it to any one sect as a specific name. A compromise was 
at length effected ; and this rampant sect, that wanted to 
monopolize Christianity, was called, by public consent, the 
Christ-inn Church. The generic word, Christian, was made 
specific by a change of pronunciation. Custom regulates all 
such things, and the wisdom of the many will not have long 
to wait for the wit of some one to give it definite shape. 

The sect of which we speak, like so many others, is now 
among the things that were. Its light has gone out ; yet, 
strange to say, total darkness has not succeeded. One thing 
surprises us very much about the sects, especially the 
more recent. It is the energy and enthusiasm they manifest 
for a time, and then, the sudden collapse they experience. 



ALETHAURXON. 



99 



They may be compared to weeds, what they really are. 
They grow fast and without much attention ; but like weeds, 
they only flourish for a season. They have not in them 
the stuff of that grand old tree that has braved the storms 
of eighteen centuries. 

But, to return again to our question : We said there were 
two, and only two, cases in which we can with propriety 
apply the generic term to one of the species it comprises. 

The first is, when an individual possesses, in a pre-emi- 
nent manner, all, or many of the great and good qualities 
that are peculiar to the genus. Thus, we may, with justice, 
call the present illustrious successor of Peter, Pius IX, a 
Christian man, because he illustrates so well, in his daih* 
life, those lofty virtues taught by the Christian faith. 

The other case, in which we may apply the generic term 
to one of the species, is, where the individual in question has 
so few good qualities that he may be regarded as a disgrace 
to the genus. 

It is in this sense that newspaper editors, speaking of 
females of easy virtue, call them ivomen of the period, mean- 
ing thereby that the parties have little or none of that virtue 
that should ever adorn the female character. 

It is the same with the term deist. The word is generic, 
and means one who believes in the existence of a Supreme 
Being. Every Catholic is really a deist. But, when the 
term is applied to an individual, it has usually a bad sense 
attached to it. It is then taken to mean one who does not 
believe in Christ, nor in any system of revealed religion. 

Now, should a man, when speaking with those who believe 
in the Saviour's mission, call himself a Christian, his words, 
according to the present use of the language, must be taken 
in one. or other of the senses given above. He either means 
that he faithfully practices all the duties required by the 
Christian faith — and it is much better for no man to say 
that of himself, but so live that others will — or he means 
that he has so little Christianity that the mere name is all he 



100 



ALETHAURION. 



can rightly claim. We see no objection to one calling him- 
self a Christian, in this latter sense. But we would recom- 
mend the following of Christ, not alone in name, but in 
word and in deed. 

In our next we will begin the discussion of the fourth 
mark, viz : Apostolicity. 



CHAPTER XXI. 



APOSTOLICITY. 

t Apostolicity is the fourth mark of the true Church, and 
means relationship with the Apostles. No one, whose mind 
is not a blank, religiously speaking, needs to be told who 
they were. There may be a few however, who may not 
know the exact meaning of the word apostle, and for the 
benefit of these, we will state that it means one who is sent. 
Outside of the Catholic Church there can be no apostles, in 
the Scriptural sense of the word, for it alone has, from the 
Saviour, authority to send. 

We have said that apostolicity imports relationship with 
the Apostles. But, it is by no means a vague nor general 
one. That of which we speak is well defined in the Scrip- 
tures. First of all, we may lay it down as a principle, that 
any Church claiming it, must, to make the claim good, show 
that it comes down as a visible organized society from the 
Apostles. The reason of this is clear. The Church of the 
Apostles was a visible one, and was so to continue until the 
end of the time. 44 Behold ! " says the Saviour, 44 1 am with 
you all days, even to the consummation of the world." — 
Matt, xxviii, 20. Hence, nothing less than continuity of 
existence, from our own day to the time of the Apostles, 
can succeed in establishing the relationship spoken of. Any 
Church pretending to apostolicity, and not able to show that 
it descends in regular line from the original twelve, denies 



ALETHAURION. 



101 



the Scriptures, and like the Tichborne claimant, perjures 
itself to gain. a title, and what belongs thereunto. 

The second requisite of apostolicity is, that the society 
laying claim to it, should hold the doctrines taught by the 
Apostles. Not alone those written in the New Testament, 
but also the other truths which they preached, but did not 
commit to writing. One of the great sectarian errors of our 
day, is the maintaining that the Apostles left in writing all 
that they wished us to know in order to be saved. The 
Scriptures bear testimony to the falsity of the assumption. 
The Church, then, that holds less than they taught, has only, 
at best, a one-sided and bastard pedigree with which to es- 
tablish relationship with the Apostles. 

The third and last element of genuine apostolicity requires 
that the members of the teaching Church should have been 
commissioned, either mediately or directly, by the Apostles. 
We learn from the Scriptures that Christ sent them ; that 
they in turn sent others. We read of how they gave in- 
structions to their immediate followers, respecting the kind 
of men to be ordained as ministers. They not only sent 
worthy men, but commanded the latter to choose out, and 
in turn commission others, and worthy ones. 

Now, we freely confess that it appears to us, that this 
third element of apostolicity bears pretty stiffly on our Evan- 
gelical cotemporaries of preaching proclivities. You may 
ask how? Well, we will, the better to elucidate take an 
example : 

There is Brother Grasshopper, who preaches for the Meth- 
odists, in that newly painted meeting-house at the corner of 
Main and Madison avenue. Suppose you take a stroll on 
some fine afternoon to his residence, and manifesting great 
anxiety for scriptural and general religious knowledge, ask 
him : ''Brother Grasshopper, who sent you to preach the 
Gospel?" His answer would be, that under the Lord, his 
much esteemed and beloved co-laborer, the venerable Bishop 
Beetle, had done so. "But who sent Bishop Beetle, 



102 



ALETHAURION. 



and who gave him authority to send you? " He answers, 
"It was the learned Dr. Bulfinch." " And who sent Dr. 
Bulfinch? " 6 'It was the saintly Bishop Scraggs," is the re- 
ply of Brother Grasshopper. "Who sent Scraggs?" "Oh, 
he was ordained and sent by Wesley himself." " Now, *,ell 
me, who was it sent Wesley? " 

Brother Grasshopper has got to the end of his rope. His 
tether will not permit him to reach out his snout and nip the 
succulent herbage beyond. Poor fellow ! He can gei to 
John Wesley, but not to Jesus Christ. 

We may well apply to Brother Grasshopper, what a sol- 
dier said to a preacher, dressed in uniform, during the iate 
civil war. " Halt ! and give the countersign," says Hector. 
" Bless my ears," says Habacuk, " If I have not got among 
the pickets." " What army do you belong to," roared the 
man of arms. "The army of the Lord," muttered the 
bible-monger. " Well, you're along distance from head- 
quarters," again thundered out Hector, "and you are not 
likely to get there by the way you're going." 

You are a long distance from head-quarters, Brother 
Grasshopper, even after you have got to Wesley, and no 
likelihood of your getting there by that route. 

What we say here of the minister of one sect, may be 
applied to those of all others. They hold their commis- 
sions from men who had no authority to give them. But, 
as regards the Greek and Oriental schismatics, the case is a 
little different. Though they have not what theologians 
call formal apostolicity, it cannot be denied, they have 
something that approaches to it. Certain it is that, though 
the Greek schismatic Church does not, as an organization, 
come down from the Apostles, though its doctrines are not 
the same, in all things, as those the Apostles taught ; though 
it has no lawful authority to send out missionaries, yet 
its bishops and priests are validly ordained, and with the 
exception of penance, can validly, though not licitly, ad- 
minister all the sacraments. 



ALETHAUEION . 



103 



With this explanation of the fourth and last mark, let us 
briefly consider the question whether the Roman, or Catho- 
lic, Church can be said to possess it. 

Does the Roman Church come down, by perpetual suc- 
cession, from the Apostles of Cheist? We answer in the 
affirmative. The well-known and uninterrupted succession 
of the Bishops of Rome, from St. Petek, Prince of the 
Apostles, to Pius IX, gloriously reigning, proves it to a 
demonstration. 

Are its doctrines apostolic? They are most assuredly so. 

Are its orders and missions apostolic? Never yet, for 
over eighteen centuries, has one been sent to teach and 
administer the sacraments, who had not had hands laid on 
him, and powers granted by the Apostles, or by one of their 
successors in direct line. The laws, customs and usages of 
the Catholic Church make it impossible for the people to be 
deceived by mountebanks, who shout pious cant from their 
pulpits, but have venom in their hearts. In a half a dozen 
or so of the chapters succeeding this, we will give short 
sketches of the heretics and heresies of the first century of 
our era, thus enabling the reader to see that no religious 
organization, at variance with the Catholic Church, is 
apostolic. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



SIMON MAGUS. 

In the last chapter we proposed to give the reader a short 
history of the various heresies that appeared in the. world 
during the first century of the Christian era. Our object in 
doing so is, mainly, to show that none of them is of apos- 
tolic origin. We begin with the father and head of heresi- 
archs, Simon Magus. 

Simon was born in a village of Samaria, called Getthis. 



104 



ALETHAURION . 



Little, if anything, is known about the character of his par- 
ents. But, if we may judge the tree by its fruit, they must 
have been of bad stock. After having studied philosophy, 
at Alexandria, he returned to his native country, and devo- 
ted his time and labor to magic, or the black art; for which 
reason he was called Magus, or the magician. 

Judging from the noise he made in the world in his day, 
one is justified in taking it for granted that he knew his 
trade pretty well. The Samaritans seeing the miracles he 
performed, were wrapt in amazement, and called him "the 
power of God, which is called great." — Acts viii, 10. He 
continued thus to excite the wonder and win the applause of 
his fellow citizens, until Philip, one of the seven deacons, 
came there to preach the gospel. 

Philip, also, performed miracles, but they were real, and 
consequently made a greater impression on the minds of the 
people than did the magical tricks of Simon. To be out- 
done was more than the magician could bear, and yet it was 
too clear he would have to yield. That low cunning, of 
which he had an abundance, soon cut the gordian knot and 
obviated the necessity of hiding his diminished head. 

He joined Philip, and with a nod and a wink to those 
behind, consented to the deacon's teaching, and was bap- 
tized. Did Simon Magus live in our day, and in this coun- 
try, what a capital politician, even candidate for Congress, 
he would make ! But, above all, what a Jove of a preacher 
he would be, in a fashionable New York or Brooklyn Church ! 
Though as hollow as a sycamore log, and as slippery as a 
decaying cabbage stalk, he had to a rare degree, the assur- 
ance and the swagger that win the applause of the 
rabble ; and the cunning to turn it to his own personal ad- 
vantage and aggrandizement. After baptism he continued 
to profess Christianity with the mouth, though, in his 
heart, he wished the cause no success. 

Things went on in this way for some time, until Peter 



ALETHAURION. 



105 



and John came to Samaria from Jerusalem, to confirm those 
whom Philip had baptized. 

In those days various gifts, such as the power of speaking 
in many languages, the knowledge of future events, etc., 
were miraculously conferred, by the imposition of the Apos- 
tles' hands. Smox, who thought himself an important 
character, a leading man, was not content with being mere- 
ly passive, as the others were. He came up to Peter and 
offered him money, not to purchase gifts like those he saw 
the Apostles had conferred, but the power of conferring 
them upon whomsoever he pleased. 

Peter, seeing the spirit by which he was actuated, and 

knowing, probably by divine revelation, the wickedness of 

the man's heart, said to him : 

••May thy money perish with thee." * * * "Thou hast no part nor 
lot in this matter, for thy heart is not right in the sight of God ; do pen- 
ance therefore, for this thy wickedness.' , * * * " I see thou art in the 
gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity.'' — Acts viii, 20, 23. 

When he had uttered these words, the heart of the magi- 
cian failed him ; he drew in his pretentious horns, and 
assumed a deprecatory demeanor, and said : 

"Pray you to the Lord, for me, that none of these things which you 
have said may come upon me." — Acts viii, 24. 

But, the rebuke of Peter did not cure the magician ; 
neither was his repentance sincere. From a secret enemy 
to Christianity, he now became an open foe. He traveled 
through several countries, and, everywhere, to the extent 
of his power, opposed the spread of the gospel. 

We have called Simon Magus *an heresiarch, yet, rigor- 
ously speaking, he was not one. He is rather to be classed 
with those impostors, or false Messiahs, that appeared in 
Judea, after the ascension of our Lord. Having renounced 
Christianity, he taught his disciples that he was, himself, 
God, the Father, among the Samaritans ; God, the Son, 
among the Jews; and God, the Holy Ghost, among the 
other nations of the earth. 



106 



ALETHAURION. 



About this time he took, as an associate, a woman of 
loose character, named Helen, of the city of Tyre, in 
Phenicia. Still pretending to be God, he called her the 
first conception of his mind — the mother of all things. It 
was through her that he first conceived the design of creat- 
ing angels, and afterwards of creating the world, and the 
human race. This Helen, according to Simon, was the 
very same person on account of whom Troy was taken and 
burned. He caused a statue of himself, and another of this 
base woman, to be made ; both of which he proposed to his 
disciples for adoration — his own under the title of Jupiter, 
and the other under that of Minerva. 

Such monstrous doctrines and practices seems more like 
the raving of a maniac than the works of a man, like Simon 
Magus, who pretended to lead others. 

They are, nevertheless, well authenticated, mention being 
made of them by Ireneus, Hasr. v, 20. After having wan- 
dered for some years through the Oriental countries, Simon 
came to Rome, where, as might be expected, he met, for a 
time, with great success. Nero, who hated Christ so 
thoroughly, was the magician's particular friend. So 
pleased, in fact, were the Romans with him, that they 
erected a statue to his honor. This fact is vouched for by 
Justin Martyr, who, in his second apology, addressing the 
Pagans, says : 

"In your royal city, Simon Magus is regarded as a God, and as suck 
is honored by you with a statue, which same, has been erected in the 
island of the Tiber, between the two bridges, having on it this Roman 
inscription : Simoni Deo Sancto-*-to Simon the blessed God. 

But villians will often get their deserts, even in this world. 
The man who abandons the ways of justice and truth, and 
seeks notoriety by pandering to the follies or vices of the 
age in which he lives, must, in order to retain his popularity, 
make each succeeding act more sensational than that which 
went before. 

Simon had well nigh gone through with all his magical 
tricks and still the people were not satisfied. They craved 



ALETHAURION. 



107 



some thing more, and on a grander scale. The magician 
gave out that on a certain day he would, in their presence, 
fly up into heaven, whence he would for evermore shower 
down blessings upon them. 

The facts and circumstances of this celebrated flight we 
will lay before the reader in a future chapter. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



THE RISE AND FALL OF SIMON MAGUS. 

In the last chapter we gave a sketch of the early career of 
Simon Magus. He was the first of heresiarchs, and on that 
account, we honor him with an extended notice. 

We promised, also, to give the principal facts and circum- 
stances connected with his celebrated flight to heaven. Now, 
before beginning to quote the more ancient authorities that 
go to prove the truth of this extraordinary fact, it is no 
more than just to tell the reader, that there are not wanting 
grave Catholic writers, of modern times, who treat the affair 
as a myth. Among them may be mentioned Calmet, 
Maffei, Bergier, the author of the Venetian Ecclesiastical 
Encyclopedia, Father Patritzi, and some others. 

In support of the fact, we have an equal, and, probably, 
more imposing array of names, all men of great learning and 
sound doctrine. Among them we may mention Baronius : 
Annals year 68 ; Tillemont : Life of St. Peter, vol. i ; 
Cardinal Orsi : History of Church, ist book, chapter ii ; 
Feller : Biog. Dictionary ; Ber Castel : History of Church, 
ist book ; Moroni : Universal Dictionary ; along with many 
others. 

Hence, we may, with all propriety, on a question like this 
introduce anew the old adage: "When doctors disagree, 
disciples are free." Did we venture to give an opinion, 



108 



ALETHAURION. 



shaped by what we have read on the subject, it would be 
decidedly that Simois flew. 

Before proceeding to substantiate this, by quotations from 
the ancients, let us lay before the reader what two very emi- 
nent modern authors have had to say on the subject. Bar- 
onius, Annals, year 68, No. 21, after having given what the 
Fathers of the Church, and other early writers have said 
about the night of Simon Magus, concludes in these words : 

41 Whereas, we have the testimony of so many, both Greek and Latin 
writers concerning the fall of Simon, we need not care if they differ in 
unimportant matters, since they all agree about the fact itself."' 

Such are the words of Baronius, as learned and trust- 
worthy a man as ever took a pen in hand to write history. 

Tillemont, another grave and respectable modern author, 

makes use of the following language : 

" TVe prefer, until refuted by certain and evident reasons, to err, in this 
matter, with Arnobius, Cyril of Jerusalem, the Legates of Pope Libe- 
rius, with St. Augustine, St. Isidore Pelusiota, with Theodoret, 
and many others, than to accuse of too much credulity so many and 
such, illustrious doctors, both of the Greek and Latin Churches. Hence, 
we contend that the fact (that Simon flew) is to be believed.' * — Life of 
St. Peter, tome i. 

Having given the opinion of these two learned men, who 

examined into the merits of the case, as far as they could 

go by the light of ancient history, we will, in the next place, 

introduce the original documents, and leave each one to draw 

his own conclusions therefrom, 'as did Baronets and 

TlLLEMONT. 

Now, the first notice of Simon's flight is to be found in a 
work entitled, "The Constitutions of the Apostles." It 
consists, principally, of certain rules and regulations, said 
to have been made by them. The work itself claims St. 
Clement, third Pope and companion of the Apostles, as its 
author, or rather compiler. But, it is certain, from intrin- 
sic evidence, that he had nothing to do with it. Who its 
real author was, no one knows. 

The precise date of its first publication, is also a matter 



ALETHAURION. 109 

of doubt. The best theory we have seen on the subject is 
this : That it was first begun by some unknown person, 
about the end of the second century. At this time it con- 
tained nothing reprehensible. Then succeeded a period of 
corruption and interpolation ; during which, good, bad, and 
indifferent things were added to and inserted in its text by 
several scribblers whose names are unknown. 

Thus it happened that, at the end of the fifth century, 
the work had become such a jumble of truth and falsehood, 
that, like a perjured witness in one of our courts of justice, 
its evidence was no longer heeded, but was thrown, as the 
lawyers say, out of court. 

Such, then, is the work from which we take our first quo- 
tation. What importance is to be given to the testimony it 
bears, we will take into consideration a little further on. 
The author of the work, or at least of that portion we are 
about to quote, introduces Peter, and makes him responsi- 
ble for what follows : 

"When Simon came to Rome he greatly annoyed the Church, and ex- 
cited the Gentiles by his magical arts. On a certain day, at noon, he 
proceeded to the amphitheater * * * having promised that he would fly 
into the air. When all present were in deep suspense and expectation 
about the fulfillment of this promise I prayed, by myself apart. Then 
he, being raised by the demons, flew aloft, telling the people that he was 
assending to heaven, whence he would shower down blessings upon 
them. The people raised a shout of applause, honoring him as a god. 
At the same time, I raised my hands to heaven, implored the Almighty 
that, through Jesus Christ, He would deign to break the impious 
wretch. * * * Then, gazing intently on Simon, I said, if I am a man 
of God, an Apostle of Jesus Christ, a true teacher of piety, and not of 
error, such as you are, Simon, I command the wicked powers, by which 
Simon Magus is sustained in the air, to loose their strength, that he may 
fall down, and be made an object of contempt to those whom he has de- 
ceived. When I had finished these words, Simon, deserted by the evil 
powers, fell with a mighty crash, and, having struck the earth, broke 
both his shins and the lower extremity of his backbone." — Bookvi, chap- 
ter 9. 

The testimony is certainly as explicit as one could desire. 
But, as hinted above, it is that of a perjured witness. Yet, 
granting all that, it by no means follows that it is false. One 



110 



ALETHAURION. 



evident lie is enough to perjure a witness in court, even 
though he may have given truthful testimony in everything 
else. We have a few specimen lies in the work we quote 
from, but it does not follow that we must regard as false 
everything, it contains. 

Now arises the question, what are we to think of the ex- 
tract above given ? Is it to be regarded as a portion of the 
original uncompleted work, or as an interpolation? We 
have no means of deciding with certainty, the latter ques- 
tion. So far as the flight of Simon is concerned, there is 
nothing impossible, nor even improbable in it. We learn 
from the scriptures that the devil once took our Lord Him- 
self up into a high mountain — set him on the pinnacle of the 
temple, etc. From this, and other facts, we may conclude 
that, by God's permission, he has to some extent, and in 
certain cases, a discretionary power over matter, even men's 
bodies. 

If then, as the scriptures inform us, one devil had power 
to transfer the sacred person of our Lord to the summit of 
a mountain, and take him from there, in an instant, to the 
top of one of the pinnacles of the temple in Jerusalem, what 
impossibility, or even improbability, can there be in saying 
that a legion of devils had power to elevate a few hundred 
feet into the air and let fall a worthless cur like Simon 
Magus ? 

There are other reasons that go to show that the extract 
is not an interpolation, but a portion of the original work, 
before having been corrupted. There are many writers of 
ancient times, besides the author of The Constitutions of the 
Apostles, who'bear testimony to the truth of the fact. 

Arnobius, an author of the third century, a man of learn- 
ing and genius, professor of rhetoric, at Sicca in Africa, 
thus speaks, in a work written against Paganism, of Simon's 
fall : 

" The Komans saw the course of Simon Magus, and the fiery chariots, 
blown away by the breath of Peter. * * * They saw him. who 



ALETHAUEIOX. 



Ill 



confided in false gods, precipitated from on high, by his own weight, 
and lying helpless with broken limbs.'* 

Now, Aknobius wrote against the Pagans, and would 
never have introduced such a fact, had it not been known 
and admitted by them. Besides Arxobius, we have the 
testimony of Cyeil, of Jerusalem, Eusebius, St. Augus- 
tixe, Eusebus, of Alexandria, and a host of others. "We 
give qnotations from the few above named. Cyril, of Jer- 
usalem, says : 

"When Simon publicly declared that he would ascend to heaven, and 
was raised aloft in the chariot of demons, the servants of God. Peter 
and Paul, on bended knees, cast him to the earth." — Gaiech. vi. 

Eusebus, ii book, chapter 14, History of the Church, thus 

speaks of the fact : 

''When the divine word had reached the Romans, the insane power of 
Simon was extinguished, and that vilest of men was completely demol- 
ished." 

St. Augustixe, epistle 86, alluding to the fast observed 
in Rome on Saturdays, gives as a reason that, on that day 
of the week, the Christians fasted that St. Peter might 
gain a victory over Simon Magus. 

Eusebius of Alexandria, in a sermon against astrologers, 
found in the new collection of Cardinal Mai, gives us a 
spicy moral : 

"Simon etiam Magus voluit ascendere in caelum sed cadenscrepuiV — Simon 
Magus also wished to ascend to heaven, but, falling, burst. 

Besides these, many others of the ancient Fathers of the 
Church bear testimony to Simon's rise and fall. An objec- 
tion may be raised here, however, to their evidence. Some 
one may say, probably they got their knowledge of the fact 
from The Constitutions of the Apostles; as that work is not 
worthy of credit, neither is their testimony. 

We reply, such a theory is not at all likely. Neither 
ought we to accuse such men, as those whose names we have 
given, of too much credulity. We ought rather to presume 
they had good grounds for what they wrote. One thing is 
certain, that the Pagan authors of those times did not copy 



112 



ALETHAURJDN. 



from The Constitutions of the Apostles, yet, we have enough, 
in their writings to render not only highly probable, 
but morally certain, what is said of Simon, in the work 
alluded to. 

Seutonius, a Pagan, in his Life of Nero, vi book, 12 chap. , 
speaks of a man who attempted to fly in the presence of the 
Emperor, but fell, and was killed. The circumstances of 
time and place will fit Simon to a nicety. 

Dio Chrysostom, another Pagan, speaking of the same 
Nero, Serm. 12, says : He was of a most tyrannical disposi- 
tion, and so positive in his ways that no one dared contra- 
dict him, nor even call impossible what he had ordered to 
be done, so that if he commanded one to fly, and the man 
had promised to do so, he was fed and taken care of in the 
royal palace by way of preparation for the feat. 

Juvenal, Satire iii., 77, also speaks of a man who took 
wings, but credits him, along with many other abominations, 
to Greece. 

There appears to have been in fact, an ancient tradition 
that Sdion came oriofinaliv from Athens ; though most his- 
torians say he was born in Samaria. These, several allus- 
ions of even Pagan authors, go far in demonstrating that 
some attempt of the kind must have been made. Add to 
these the explicit testimonies from Christian authors, and 
our opinion is, that, all taken together, forms a strong chain 
of evidence to show that Simon flew. 



CHAPTEK XXIV. 



ERRORS OF SIMON MAGUS. 

Our course, for the seven coming chapters, will be through 
graveyards, wherein moulder the bones of defunct heresi- 
archs. Our intention, in choosing such a path, is to play, 
on a small scale, the part of Walter Scott's Old Mortality; 



ALETHAURION. 



113 



to clear away the rank weeds, to scrape off the moss from 
the monuments of forgotten fools, to learn what they did, 
what they aimed to do, and what they failed to accomplish. 

The reader who accompanies us through this sad and de- 
voted city of the dead, will find proofs in abundance of man's 
littleness when he undertakes to make war on God and on 
His works. He will have fresh evidences of the fore- 
knowledge of Him who said : 

" Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it." — Matt, xvi, 18. 

Before commencing an examination of the tombstones 
aforesaid, we here caution the reader not to be surprised at 
the follies, nor wonder at the contradiction of heresiarchs. 
They were all led on by the spirit of the Evil One, and, when 
a man has succeeded in making the Father of Lies truthful, 
then, and not until then, may he reasonably hope to find 
consistency in the acts of his principal agents here on earth. 

Heresiarchs are to be blamed, but as men we should rather 
pity and deplore their weakness, in suffering themselves to 
be made the tools of the demon, losing thereby their own 
souls, and by their bad influence, dragging thousands, weak 
like themselves, into the abyss. 

They relate an interview, which is said to have taken 

place down below, between Emanuel Swedenborg, the 

founder of the New Jerusalem Church, and Martin Luther, 

the father of Protestantism. It is to the following effect: 

SwedenborGt reproaches Martin with his many follies and 

inconsistencies, and also, with having been the cause of the 

loss of scores of others. 

"Very true," replied Luther, 4 4 while on earth, I was a fool. The 
sentence of a merciful hut just God condemning me to this place, has 
long since convinced me of it. But what surprises me most of all is, 
that one fool, such as I was, should have turned heads of so many 
thousands of others, and yours along with the rest. " 

Thus it is that heresiarchs discover their folly when it is 
too late. But as they are themselves, in the end, the prin- 
cipal losers, while we loathe and condemn their errors, let 



114 



ALETHAUEION. 



us pity their present sad lot, and rejoice that through the 
mercy of God, we have been permitted to walk in the right 
way, having thereby a well grounded hope that, when we 
have trodden it to the end, we will be rewarded by being 
allowed to gaze on the splendid portals of the heavenly 
Jerusalem, and participate in the beautitude of the just within 
its walls. 

But let us continue our story about Simon Magus. His 
errors, which we have collected, are written down here for 
present inspection as well as future reference. They may 
be regarded as good specimens of what a man, under the 
inspiration of the Devil, is capable of saying and doing. 

Simon's first and greatest error consisted in maintaining 
that he was God Almighty. Luther certainly, to give him 
his due, did not pretend to so much. He said of himself 
only, that he was not far off from being a god. Simon 
took his straight ; Martin, with a little nutmeg. 

Now, at the first sight, it may appear to us passing strange 
that the magician should have made such pretensions, they 
look so outrageously absurd. Yet, if we take into considera- 
tion the peculiar circumstances of time and place, it will not 
seem at all wonderful that a cunning mountebank, juggler, 
and liar, like Simon Magus, should have gone even so far as 
to pretend to be God. 

Simon knew that Christ, Saviour, had laid claims to 
divinity, and what was more, had brought people to believe 
that He was divine. Hence, the idea naturally occurred to 
him that he could not be a successful rival of Christ without 
advancing the same pretensions. 

Whether Simon's disciples really believed in his godhead 
or not, we are unable to say. Most likely it was with 
them as with the soldiers of Alexander. They thought it 
best not to ask too many questions, nor seek for proofs 
higher than their master's word. 

We find evidence of this same blasphemous spirit in all 
the heresiarchs that have succeeded the magician, even to 



ALETHAURION . 



115 



our own times. Though none have gone as far as he did, 
nevertheless they all have laid claim to a direct communion 
with the Divinity, or to a species of inspiration. 

The doctrine of the private interpretation of the scrip- 
tures is built on this arrogant assumption. We have not 
space to mention all the errors of the wretched man of 
whom we write, but we cannot forbear giving those that are 
most prominent. A favorite doctrine of his was, that all 
who believed in himself need not trouble themselves in 
trying to observe either the laws of Moses, or any other. 
Their own wills were law, and whatever each chose to do, 
was just, right and proper. 

Simon also invented the doctrine of "Free Love," pretty 
much as taught at the present day by TToodhull and 
others. In this particular, also, Simon was far ahead of the 
greater part of our modern heretics. Obscenity was one of 
the essential features of his religion. So much so, that, 
according to him, no one could be saved who had not 
learned and practiced certain lewd rites and ceremonies, 
which respect for ourselves and our readers forbids us to 
mention. 

Some might regard us as extravagant were we to call 
Simon Magus a Protestant. They would, no doubt, put us 
down in the same category with that brilliant editor of a 
sectarian newspaper, who, some time ago, told his patrons 
that Joan of Arc, was burned at the stake by the Jesuites. 
Yet, we could, by the very same line of argument that 
Baptists use to prove their apostolicity, show that Simon 
Magus was a Protestant ; nay more, that he was the 
founder of Protestantism. 

Let us come to an understanding. Anabaptists find from 
reading history, that long before Luther, there were some 
sects that denied the utility of infant baptism. They jump 
at conclusions. These believed, say they, just as we do, 
therefore, they and we form the same body organic. Just 



116 



ALETHAURION. 



so. We will prove in the same way that Simon Magus was 
a Protestant. 

Ireneus, Haer. v, 20 ; Theodoret, Haer. Fab. i, i ; tell 
us that one of Simon's favorite doctrines was, that men 
were saved by grace, without good works. Luther taught 
the inutility, even sinfulness, of good works. Hence, we 
feel warranted in saying, according to Baptist logic, that 
Simon Magus was just as good a Protestant as Luther. 

We will conclude our notice of Simon by showing that he 
was a practical man, taking good care of himself, and not 
bringing his disciples into danger, on account of their belief. 
In those days it was unsafe to be a Christian, even to have 
been thought one ; and the Pagans did not always distin- 
guish true from false Christianity. Hence, Simon's men 
were sometimes taken up for being Christians, along with 
others who were really such. Now, the magician was en- 
tirely too tender-hearted to see his followers roasted alive, 
or beheaded, for nothing at all. So he instructed them, in 
case of arrest, to deny they were Christians, and, if neces- 
sary, to sacrifice to Jupiter, in proof of their sincerity. 
Christ taught His disciples not to fear death, when truth 
was to be maintained. He died for the truth, and all true 
believers are ever ready to shed their blood rather than for- 
sake it. The maintenance of truth, even to blood is one of 
the characteristics of a Catholic. 

The heretic will flinch, and always has done so. He may 
die for his crimes, or his passions, never for his faith ; be- 
cause he has not the divine gift. We leave Simon Magus 
for the present. His followers were called Simonians. 
After their leader's death, they split up into an endless num- 
ber of sects ; and finally, toward the middle of the third 
century, they were either converted to the true Church, or, 
under new names, formed part and parcel of new heresies. 
If the Baptists, who are anxious to trace themselves up to 
the Apostles, choose to acknowledge Simon and his boys as 
their ancestors in the faith, we have no objection. One 



ALETHAURION. 



117 



thing is certain that, should they stretch their lines, they 
will connect either with Simon Peter or Simon Magus. 
They will not succeed in hitching on to the former ; but we 
see nothing impossible in the attempt to establish, by his- 
tory, an unbroken line of heresies, extending from our times 
to those of Simon the magician. What the Baptists have 
to prove is the identity, as an organization, of their sect with 
the primitive and medieval heresies. Not alone that, they 
must establish identity of doctrine. This cannot be done ; 
neither by the Baptists nor by any other sect of modern 
times. 

In our next we will treat of the followers of Simon 
Magus. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



FOLLOWERS OF SIMON MAGUS. 

We now leave Simon, for the present, in a corner of the Ro- 
man amphitheater, with broken shins and backbone out of 
joint, an object of contempt to those whom he had sought to 
deceive. Our business, in the present chapter, will be with 
his followers. 

And a nasty brood they are to contemplate. Like those 
monsters, half human, half beast, that are, at intervals, 
born into the world, their appearance shock us. They 
humble human pride and teach us how low unregenerate man 
may sink. It is thus with heresy. It is a forced union of 
the divine and the diabolical. When we see painted, the 
image of a foul dragon, we may conceive within our breasts 
feelings of loathing or of fright, as the case may be. But 
when we look on the form of a man with the head of a dos: ; 
or on a woman's fair face united with and terminating in 
the slimy folds of a serpent, our feelings are those of dis- 
gust and humiliation. 



118 



ALETHAURION. 



A Catholic of tender conscience may look on paganism 
with the feelings of hatred due the demon, of whom it is the 
legitimate offspring. But heresy he must ever regard with 
a revulsion of spirit, because it is bastard and monstrous. 

Eusebius, the Father of Church history, tells that the 
Simonian heresy continued in existence until about the be- 
ginning of the fourth century. This observation of the his- 
torian may tend to make us Catholics cease wondering at 
the length of time the Protestant heresy has stood its ground. 
It is probable, however, that at the period mentioned, there 
were only an insignificant few of them, and these so changed, 
that they bore but little resemblance to their ancestors. 
That such was the case, will appear probable, from a pas- 
sage of Origen : "The Simonians are nowhere to be found 
at the present day, although Simon, to gain Disciples, did 
away with such doctrines as exposed his followers to danger 
of death, saying that idolatry was a matterof in differ- 
ence." Cont. Cels. vi. 

These words show that, some time previous to the middl 
of the third century, there were so few Simonians that even 
Origen did not know that there were any in existence. Be- 
fore the Simonian heresy became entirely extinct, it devel- 
oped a feature noticeable in all that have eome after it. It 
split up into a countless number of smaller sects. 

Menander, a Disciple of Simon, and like him a Samari- 
tan, was the first who took it into his head that he had just 
as good a right to make a new religion and become the head 
center of a new sect as Simon himself. He did so. About 
the year 74, during the reign of Vespasian, our hero began 
to work miracles ; for he was also a magician. While he 
did not entirely condemn the doctrines of his master, he 
told the people that he was, himself, a greater man than 
Simon ever was or dared to be. This was evidently a kick 
at the dead lion. But, as the magician's Disciples were not 
overburdened with affection for his memory, they went over 
and shouted for Menander. We have noticed the same 



ALETHAURION. 



119 



fickleness of character, the same gaping after novelties in 
religion, anions: the heretics in the rural districts of this 
State. Almost any preacher, provided he come big-mouthed 
and swasgerins:, can raise the dust without effort. A new 
heresiarch, like a new broom, sweeps clean for a time. But 
it is only the vicious he takes along with him. Menander 
taught his Disciples that he was the Saviour of mankind, and 
that no one could obtain entire freedom from those bad an- 
gels, who, according to him, created the world, unless he 
first learned magic and had the happiness of being baptized 
in his own name. To those so christened he promises en- 
tire freedom from old age and death, even in this life. 

Menander, no doubt, found it easy to persuade the 
women that they always looked young and handsome ; 
but how he succeeded in showing men, that wrinkles, gray 
hairs, and toothless jaws were not signs of old age, this is 
what puzzles us to know. 

Maybe he accounted for these phenomena in the same 
way that Calvinists and Hard-Shell Baptists do for the fall- 
ing away from grace of a Church member. According to 
one of the decisions of the Calvinistic Synod of Dordrecht, 
it was proclaimed, as a truth taught in the Scriptures, that 
when a man is once justified by faith in Jesus Christ he 
can never more fall from grace. But examples occur, even 
among Calvinists and Hard-Shells, of such indiscretions as 
theft, adultery, drunkenness, envy, lying, &c. When these 
are so palpable that disguise is impossible, they explain by 
saying, that the sin is either not imputed, or, that the au- 
thor of them was never truly converted to the Lord. In all 
probability, Menander had recourse to a similar subterfuge 
when one of his members got a call to report at head- 
quarters. 

Menander is said to have ended his life by falling head- 
long into a pit. There he perished miserably with his heels 
in the air, vainly trying to extricate himself from the mire 
that surrounded him. 



120 



ALETHAURION. 



He had a successor, on the heresiarchal chair, Saturxixus, 
who was also one of Simox's boys. Saturxixus was of An- 
tioch, a city of Syria. This wretch, though laying no claims 
to divinity, as did his predecessors, nevertheless taught many 
of their errors, and added thereunto others of his own. Ac- 
cording to Saturxixus, there was one heavenly Father, un- 
known to men. This unknown God created angels and 
other heavenly powers. Seven of the former created this 
world, and also man, and then made an equal division. It 
was a joint stock company. But the way these seven angels 
created man is amusing and may interest the reader. One 
day, a bright apparition from heaven presented itself , and in- 
flamed them with a desire of making man. They set about 
the business forthwith, and got him into pretty good shape. 
Then came the difficulty, for they could not make him stand 
erect, and he could only crawl like a worm. The angels 
were about to give up in despair, when the divine virtue came 
to their aid, and blew the spark of life in the creature which 
they had formed. This having been done he stood up and 
acted like a man. 

Besides these follies, Saturxixus taught his Disciples that 
the God, whom the Jews worshipped, was one of the angels 
created by the great unknown God, and that the Saviour was 
sent into the world by the Father to set to rights the God of 
the Jews, and at the same time to save all those who be- 
lieved in him. 

He taught, moreover, that the angels created two races of 
men ; the one bad, the other good. 'Why these never got 
mixed by intermarriage, Saturxixus did not explain. But, 
as the bad people were all helped along by the devil, the 
Saviour came on earth to exterminate both. This error of 
Saturxixus must not be confounded with another, which had 
its rise in the seventeenth century, that of the Pre-adamites 
and Co-adamites. By this is meant the conceit of those who 
maintained that, either along with, or before Adam, there 



ALETHAURION. 



121 



was created, here on earth, another race of men, altogether 
distinct from him. 

Saturnintjs taught that the person of Christ was not real, 
and that all he did and suffered was only in appearance. 
This error, at a subsequent period, assumed considerable 
proportions, to such an extent that it became a distinguish- 
ing mark, and gave name to a sect called the Phantasiasts. 

Our hero was the first heretic who taught that marriage 
was the work of the Demon. The Shakers, therefore, 
ought to claim him as the founder of their sect. This was 
certainly a strange idea, and not in keeping with the exam- 
ple of the two that went before him, and certainly not with 
the conduct of those who came after. Heresiarchs, as a 
general rule, have been rather indulgent, especially to them- 
selves, in the matter we speak of. 

We presume, however, that his sermons against marriage 
were equally as sincere as those of the Good Templars of our 
day against old Bourbon, just about. 

Satueninus met a fate in keeping with the life he had led. 
On a certain day, while uttering his blasphemies to an ad-* 
miring crowd, his tongue became paralyzed, and continued to 
grow in thickness until it had filled his mouth. The w r retched 
man, unable to take food, after six days of intense suffering, 
shuffled off the coil, and his unwilling spirit wended its way 
to the Stygian pool and the dark Cocytus, on whose rueful 
banks it still laments the follies done in the flesh. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



BASILIDES. 

Having spoken of Mexakder and Saturnixus in the pre- 
vious chapter, the current of time brings us to Basilides. 
Though not an immediate Disciple of Simon Magus, he was 
the next w r orst thing to it, a Disciple of Mexaxder. Hence, 



122 



ALETHAURION. 



Basilides bears the same relation to the first heresiarch, 
that John Wesley and Alexander Campbell do to Luther. 
He was a chip of the same block, a sprout from the parent 
stock, a tempest in a tea-pot, in his day and generation. 

Basilides was a native of Alexandria, in Egypt ; a city no 
less celebrated for its extensive commerce and great wealth 
in those days, than for its men of learning and genius. 
Among the latter we cannot reckon the subject of our sketch. 
No heresiarch was ever a man of true genuis. Like the 
eagle, in its sunward flight, genius soars beyond all mean 
trickery. It draws to itself and retains the admiration of 
good men. Its possessor approaches, in a manner, to the 
angelic intelligence. Heresiarchs, on the other hand, acquire 
notoriety principally by their obstinate attachment to error ; 
and, so far as we can gain a knowledge of them by the light 
of history, they all appear to have been men incapable of 
distinguishing what truth is. We may say, too, without 
fear of contradiction, that the names of but few indeed of 
them would have survived the decade succeeding their de- 
mise, had they chosen to run a fair race with their contem- 
poraries on that course marked out by the glorious founder 
of our holy faith. 

Heresiarchs appear to lack all that is grand in our human 
nature, and to posses, after a singular manner, those qualities 
that are reputed vile and ignoble among men. They draw 
to their aid and support only the vicious, because they pander 
to the passions, to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 
and the pride of life. 

This done, they think out hollow systems of belief, in 
which, as in a labyrinth, they loose themselves and their 
followers. 

Basilides had his system, and a strange one. We give 
it, as found in the writings of the ancient Fathers. Portions 
of it sound like the ravings of some of our modern infidel 
philosophers, when they undertake to tell what they know 
about religion. But we have already cautioned the reader 



ALETHAURION. 



123 



not to wonder at the doings and sayings of heresiarchs. 
Even the Puritans, of New England, had, at onetime, such 
an absurd idea of their own piety that they confidently 
expected no less a recompense than that the Saviour would 
leave heaven and take up, for good company's sake, his 
abode in Boston. Thus it has been, and will be, with those 
who leave the way of truth — blown about by every wind of 
doctrine. 

But, let us return to Basilides' celebrated system. First 
of all, he laid it down as a principle, that there was one 
supreme power. This he called Abrasax, a word never 
known nor heard of before. Abrasax created mind, from 
mind came the word, from the word, prudence, from pru- 
dence, virtue and ivisdom. From virtue and wisdom came 
forth principalities, powers andangels. The angels, in turn, 
created the highest heaven, and other inferior angels. These 
created another heaven, and another race of angels, and so 
on, until 365 heavens were formed, and as many different 
choirs of angels, rising in grade one above the other, like 
steps in a flight of stairs. The last bevy, having been too 
weak to attempt a new heaven, showed their industry by 
creating this earth. The captain-general of this last choir, 
according to Basilides, was no other than the God of the 
Jews. He audaciously sought to place his chosen people 
above all other nations. It was by his ingenuity that the 
Jews were liberated from Egyptian bondage. 

This idea of the world having been created by angels, ap- 
pears to have been held by most of the heretics of the first 
century. Yet, a little attention to a couple of principles 
would have saved them and us from all their vagaries on 
the subject. It requires an infinite power to create. No 
finite being can become the recipient of what is infinite. 

Basilides taught his Disciples that Christ did not take a 
real human body and soul ; and that he was not crucified. 
But, as this was contrary to the general belief, and in op- 
position to the testimony, written and traditional, of the 



124 



ALETHAURION, 



Apostles, he felt that some explanation ought to be given. 
It was as follows : When the Jews led the Saviour up Mount 
Calvary, he feigned fatigue, whereupon they forced Simon 
of Cyene to carry his cross. After all had arrived at the 
top of the Mount, in the confusion of the moment, the 
Saviour took the form and appearance of Simon, while he 
was made to assume that of Christ, and was, in conse- 
quence crucified ; while Christ stood by and laughed. Such 
sl story is well worthy of the depravity of a heretic. 

Basilides condemned martyrdom, affirming, that such as 
died for the faith received no reward in the next life. He 
taught his Disciples, in times of persecution, to deny 
Christ, and that in so doing they committed no sin. But 
when some one urged the well known text, " He that denies 
me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who 
is in heaven," Matt. x. 33, the heresiarch answered : 

" Trouble not thy soul with this saying; kno west thou not that the 
Disciples of Basilides are alone worthy of the name of men, and that 
all others are but swine and dogs. You must not, therefore, by openly 
professing your belief, in the presence of such, give what is holy to the 
dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine." 

Our hero was not content with the scriptures written by 
the Apostles and Evangelists, so he undertook to write a 
gospel of his own. But, as the ancient prophets had the 
misfortune to differ with him, in some essential respects, 
he set them aside, as Luther, at later period, did the 
epistle of St. James, and invented two others whose writ- 
ings were orthodox. These he called, respectively, Barcoba 
and Barcop. The writings of these two prophets, we 
presume, had been hid in the ground, somewhere, until 
Basilides, directed by the light of the spirit, discovered 
them, much in the same way that Joe Smith discovered the 
Book of Mormon. By the aid of these ancient works, he 
found no difficulty in getting up a gospel suitable to his 
taste. Clement of Alexandria tells us, Strom, iv, that he 
also wrote a commentary on the scriptures in twenty-three 
books. What a pity that the tooth of time, and the mice, 



ALETHAURION. 



125 



have destroyed these precious works. But, for some rea- 
son, the works of the ancient heretics, on religious matters, 
have never been able to stand the test of time ; we have 
only fragments of them preserved in the writings of the 
Fathers of the Church, like motes within a piece of amber. 

In imitation of the pagan philosopher, Pythagoras, our 
hero commanded all his Disciples to observe a strict silence 
for the first five years of their novitiate. They had thus 
sufficient time to meditate on the greatness of their master, 
and on their own nothingness. At the end, as Eusebius 
testifies, they were ceremoniously treated to one of their 
master's crumbs of wisdom. It was in these words : 66 Take 
heed that you know all things, and that no one knows 
you." Indeed, this was appropriate advice, if what 
Ireneus,Epiphanius and Theodoret tell of their corrupt 
morals be true 

Besides the errors and follies already noticed, Basilides 
denied the real presence of our Lord in the Eucharist. It 
is the opinion of learned men, that it is of him and his fol- 
lowers Ignatius, martyr, speaks in his epistle to the faithful 
of Smyrna, where he uses these words : 

" They do not admit the Eucharist, nor oblations, because they do not 
confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Saviour Jesus Christ, 
which suffered for our sins, and which the Father, of his benignity, 
raised again to life." 

When modern sectarians, who deny the real presence, 
come across such words, from a man like Ignatius, who 
lived in apostolic times, we are curious to know what direc- 
tion their thoughts take. They cannot advance the same 
reasons for denying the real presence as did Basilides and 
his followers. Those ancient heretics did not admit the mys- 
tery of the Incarnation, and hence, their refusal to admit 
the real presence was logical. Whereas, our modern here- 
tics, though admitting the Incarnation, still deny the real 
presence of our Lord's flesh and blood in the Sacrament. 

We conclude, with a brief notice of the personal appear- 
ance of our hero. In stature, Balilides was considerably 



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ALETHAURIOX. 



above the middle hight. His head, which appeared to rest 
immediately on a pair of broad shoulders, was small and 
round, well protected from cold in winter, and the sun's 
heat in the summer season, by a matting of red hair that 
grew down almost to his eyebrows. His eyes were placed 
far apart, and under ordinary circumstances, looked dull 
and meaningless. When excited, however by any want of 
respect on the part of his disciples, they assumed a savage 
and truculent glare. His nose was short and elevated at the 
point, but his mouth was enormous, and drawn down at the 
corners. 

The Pagan inhabitants of Alexandria, like those of An- 
tioch, were remarkable at giving nicknames. Hence, it was 
not likely that a surly, ill-favored clown, like Basilides, 
could have long escaped the notice of his countrymen. Ac- 
cordingly, after he had brought himself into public notor- 
iety, partly from the fact that he was continually calling all 
who did not belong to his sect, dogs and swine, but more 
especially, on account of his personal appearance, he received 
the name of Dioskyon; which translated into good English, 
would mean Jupiter's bull pup. 

The errors of Basilides were refuted by Ignatius mar- 
tyr, partly in his epistle to the faithful of Tralles, and partly 
in that addressed to the faithful of Smyrna. Besides Igna- 
tius, Castor Agrippa, Irexcus, Clement of Alexandria, 
and Epiphaxius, each in turn, applied the scourge until 
there was nothing left of the heretic but a name and an 
odor. 

In the next we treat of Cerixthus. 



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127 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



CERINTHUS. 

According to promise, we come to speak now of Ceren- 
thus. He is the fifth in order from Smox Magus. Many 
of our readers, in all probability, have never before seen his 
name in print. Yet he was a sturdy dog in his day, and 
made some noise in the world. Few, indeed, of those prim- 
itive heresiarchs are now spoken of , or even thought about, 
by the average student of history. As soon as the sects 
which they originated ceased to exist, their names sank, in 
a manner, into oblivion, descended to the vile earth from 
which they sprung, unwept, unhonored and unsung. 

The names of the Apostles, on the other hand, and of 
many of the early martyrs of our holy faith, whose lives 
the Pagans and heretics esteemed a madness, are still in 
benediction among men, and will remain so to the end of 
time. It ought to be thus. The notoriety that heresiarchs 
gain is purchased at a cheap price, and does not wear well. 
They ascend withcut labor, and descend without honor. 

Cerixthus, the subject of this chapter, studied philosophy 
at Alexandria, in Egypt. By philosophy, may be here 
understood, learning in general. How long he thumbed his 
books, we are not informed. Most probably, long enough 
to have acquired a little learning, which the poet tells us is 
a dangerous thing. It proved so in his case. Scarcely had 
he declared his independence of the ferrule, when he began 
to think himself wiser than the Apostles. He got so bold 
as, frequently, to resist them face to face at Antioch, 
Csesarea, and Jerusalem. 

This conduct reminds us of a young stripling named 
Smith, who, a couple of years ago, on finishing his course at 
a sectarian seminary in this State, delivered himself of an 



128 



ALETHAURIOX. 



oration, in which he informed the assembled lawyers, doc- 
tors and grangers, that, after having studied the bible 
thoroughly, and moreover, having convinced himself that 
there was. nothing more for him to learn in regard to it, he 
had, nevertheless, come to the settled conclusion, that it was 
all nonsense. * A murmur of the old women arose when he 
had spoken that word, because they all thought him "smart," 
and it was currently reported in the town, of which he was 
the hero, that he was going to become a preacher. The 
lawyers and rustics were also amazed, and the doctors thought 
he needed pills. Yet, notwithstanding all this, the earth did 
not stop turning on its axis, and the sun arose next morning 
at the usual time, as if nothing extraordinary had occurred. 

A little science often leads astray, whereas, deep research 
draws men to the truth, if their hearts are not bad, and 
their morals not corrupt. 

It was no other than our hero Cerixthus who raised the 
commotion at Antioch, of which mention is made in Acts 
xv. He asserted that Christians were bound to observe the 
ceremonies instituted by Moses along with those of Christ. 
Paul and Barxabas, who were in Antioch at the same time, 
expostulated with him on the errors of his ways. But, when 
was a heretic ever known to care a whit for St. Paul, or 
any other saint, when their teaching ran counter to his 
theories? The question at issue was finally referred to the 
Apostles in Jerusalem ; and Cerixthus was invited to g<5 
thither and defend his opinions. 

Ever since, it has been customary to invite heresiarchs to 
be present at councils, that they may state their views be- 
fore the assembled fathers, and defend if they choose. But 
the errors of Cerixthus could not stand the scrutiny. 
Hence, when Peter, the first Pope, arose in the assembly 
and cast a withering glance toward the heretics, saying at 
the same time : 

" Why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the Disciples, 
which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? ,, — Acts xv, 10. 



ALETHAURION. 



129 



They held their peace. Cerinthus and his men had not a 
word to say ; they were calmed down, mute as mice — sub- 
dued. No doubt that case of Ananias and Saphira was yet 
fresh in their memories, and they thought it best not to 
arouse the lion's wrath, lest there might be another funeral. 

But Cerinthus, on having been allowed to retire, re- 
gained his former contumacy as well as hypocrisy, which 
latter comes as natural to a heresiarch, as the art of swim- 
ming to a gosling. He continued to teach his errors, and to 
infuse a hatred of the Apostles into the minds of his gang of 
apostates. This same spirit of hatred toward those who, at 
the present day, hold the places of the Apostles in the 
Church, is a noticeable feature among sectarians. Having 
little or nothing to offer capable of giving peace and true 
consolation to the souls of men, the ministers of heretical 
sects, not unfrequently vent their impotent rage in frothy, 
often filthy declamations against the Pope,, the bishops and 
priesthood of the Catholic Church. Even as we write, there 
is here in Newport, a driveling, straggling, nincompoop 
preacher, telling people what he says he knows about the 
confessional. 

The errors of Cerinthus, as given by Ireneus, book i> 
chap, xxv, of Heresies ; Theodoret, book ii, chap. 5, Hseretic 
Fab. ; St. Augustine, Treatise on Heresies ; Eusebius, 
book iii, Church history, may be summed up as follows : 

He taught there was but one God ; and, so far, he was 
right. But men of his class can never stop at the exact 
truth. They go beyond it, and get themselves entangled in 
false notions and theories of their own. According to Cer- 
inthus, the supreme God did not create the heavens and 
the earth. This was done by other inferior, yet independ- 
ent powers. 

He also taught that the Saviour, before His baptism 
in the Jordan, was but a mere man, the son of Joseph and 
Mary. He remained so, until the time spoken of, when the 
Holy Ghost descended upon Him, and thenceforth, until 



130 



ALETHAURIOX. 



immediately before His passion and death, He was, in truth, 
a divine personage. At the commencement of His passion, 
the divinity again left Him, so that it was Jesus, a mere man, 
and not Christ, the son of God, whom the Jews crucified. 

This error contradicts the mystery of the Redemption. If 
He who was crucified was only a man, the infinite debt, con- 
tracted by Adam, remains still unpaid to the Divine Justice. 
How much more consoling to us, children of Adam, is the 
truth on this point. We admit the debt was, in a manner, 
infinite ; but, we maintain it was cancelled by a sacrifice 
infinite in value ; because the victim offered was no other 
than God himself. A favorite practice with heretics in all 
ages, has been to deny the authority of certain portions of 
the Scripture, and change those retained to suit their notions. 
Cerixthus was not at all backward in taking that liberty 
with the written word, which men of his ilk have, from time 
immemorial, regarded as a birthright. 

He mutilated the gospel of Matthew, rejected all the 
epistles of Paul, and condemned, outright, the Acts of the 
Apostles. 

We are not surprised at his condemnation of Acts. Cer- 
ixthus, no doubt, had a good opinion of his own abilities. 
All heresiarchs have. Now, in the book we speak of, his 
name does not occur once, whereas, that of Paul, his great 
opponent, is frequently to be found. What more natural, 
then, than that he should have condemned so one-sided a 
history as the book of Acts must have appeared to him. 

Cerixthus had not only his own natural ability to help 
him along, but also frequent and important revelations from 
an angel. This was, in all probability, the very same one, 
at whom Luther threw the ink bottle. He differs from the 
others we read about, inasmuch as he has the wings of a bat 
instead of a bird 

Along with the errors and follies spoken of, Cerixthus 
taught his Disciples that, after the last judgment, Christ 
would not ascend with the just to heaven, but would change 



ALETHAURIOX. 



131 



this earth into a paradise for their benefit. The capitol was 
to be Jerusalem, where the Saviour was to take up his abode 
with the elect for a thousand years. During this period, 
feasting, revelling and promiscuous gaiety was to be the 
order of the day. But, whither the revellers were to betake 
themselves after the time was up, he did not explain. 

The manner in which Cerixthus took leave of this world 
and its vanities is peculiar. After having traveled through 
several of the oriental countries, in youth, he turned his 
face westward, in the evening of life, and landed like his 
great prototype Simox, in the city of the C.esars. As he 
was one day gyrating through the streets of the great capitol, 
he met St. Johx, the beloved Disciple of our Lord. 44 Do 
you know me?" said Cerixthus to him. 44 Very well," 
rejoined the Apostle. 4 4 You are, if I mistake not, the oldest 
living son of the devil." This was rather unkind language on 
the part of St. Johx. One of our modern liberal Catholics 
could have taught him to be more polite to a gentleman 
like Cerixthus. But then, the Apostles were a rough kind 
of men, and did not understand the good service they might 
have got out of heretics, by treating them with lofty con- 
sideration. The conference ended abruptly. St. Johx 
went away in another direction. He wished to teach by ex- 
ample what St. Paul had done by word, to "avoid an 
heretical man" Tit. iii, 10. Cerixthus was cut to the quick, 
and followed the Apostle and his companions into one of 
the public baths, intending to offer insult and personal vio- 
lence to the Evangelist. But God had numbered his days 
and finished them. On seeing him, St. Johx said to those 
with him : 4 4 Let us fly from this house that holds Cerix- 
thus, lest falling, it may oppress us." Scarcely had they 
passed the threshold, when an earthquake reduced the edifice 
to a heap of ruins. The unfortunate man, on finding that 
his day had come, gave one fiendish shriek, in which rage 
and despair strove for the mastery. Then his soul, polluted 



132 



ALETHAURION. 



with many crimes, sped on its way to Pluto's realms of 
sorrow, where we leave him. 

Our next, will treat of the Millennium. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



THE MILLENNIUM. 

In the last chapter we spoke of the heresiarchCERiNTHus. 
Among the other errors and the follies taught by him, was 
that concerning the Millennium. The reader, no doubt, 
wishes to learn something about this word, and the idea it is 
intended to express. Millennium is a compound, made up 
of two Latin words, mille, which means a thousand, and 
annus, which signifies a year. Hence, taken by itself, 
apart from historical connection, Millennium means nothing 
more nor less than a period of a thousand years. 

Many, who have heard, and maybe used the expression, 
have, without doubt, connected with it ideas of a state of 
happiness and security, similar to that enjoyed by our first 
parents before the fall. The word certainly, by reason of 
its historical associations, has acquired the latter significa- 
tion. How it happens to be thus, we now hasten to tell. 

Among the greater portion of the heretics of the first cen- 
tury, drunkenness, gluttony, and the indulgence of lustful 
desires were carried to a shocking excess. Having had no 
well-grounded hope of a felicity beyond the tomb, they 
sought it here, by giving loose reins to those propensities 
that are reputed vile and beastly. 

But, as the free indulgence in such pleasures failed to 
give that happiness they had expected ; as, on the contrary, 
after years of dissipation and debauchery, they found them- 
selves the victims of loathsome diseases, and of despair ; 
they fondly imagined that, hereafter, there would be a 
blessed period, within which they could indulge their wicked 



ALETHAUEION . 



133 



desires, without any of the sad consequences that follow the 
continued infringment of those physical laws that govern 
man in his present state. 

Such ideas were, at the commencement, vague and unde- 
fined in the minds of those wretched heretics. It is proba- 
ble that the impostor Mohammed, at a later period, bor- 
rowed from them the conceptions of the future state of bliss 
which he promised as a reward to all his faithful followers. 

We have said that such ideas were, at first, somewhat 
undefined. Hence, some ingenious inventor of lies was 
required, to give definite shape and a name to that vain 
thought. 

Cerinthus was the man, being adapted by nature, and 
by years of self -training for the work. Though miserable 
and haggard in his appearance, with club feet and a with- 
ered left hand, he had qualities of mind that insure success, 
and even admiration to their possessor, among heretics. 

Without apparent preparation, he could, at any time, 
entertain his hearers, for an hour or more, with a tissue of 
circumstantial falsehood, that appeared, at first hearing, to 
possess the coherence of truth itself. It was he first fossi- 
lized the folly of the multitude in the word, millennium. 

The following is the manner in which things were to be 
arranged. After the last judgment, the wicked, viz : All 
those who did not belong to his sect, were to be chased by 
the demons with thunder and lightning into the lake burn- 
ins: with fire and brimstone. Then Christ would change 
this earth into a paradise, of which the New Jerusalem was 
to be the capitol city. Here, for the period of a thousand 
years, the time would pass gaily in nuptial feasting, and* in 
the unrestrained indulgence in all the animal passions. 

Such ideas of future felicity are so repugnant and foreign 
to our notions of the pure enjoyments of heaven, and so 
contradictory to all we know of the life and teachings of 
our Divine Redeemer, that they scarcely deserve a refuta- 
tion. 



134 



ALETHAUEION. 



Nevertheless, we may bring forward here a few texts of 

scripture that plainly contradict the millennial theory, as 

advocated by Ceeinthus. In Matthew xxii, 30, we read 

these words of the Saviour, addressed to the Sadducees, 

who had been questioning him on the subject of marriage, 

in the next life : 

"In the resurrection, 1 ' said he, "they shall neither marry, nor he given 
in marriage, but shall be like unto the angels of God." 

This text sets aside all notions of those gross and carnal 
pleasures dreamed of by the heresiarch, as peculiar to the 
Millennial period. 

Secondly, the Millennium, according to Cerinthus, was to 
come after the last judgment, and was to continue only for 
a thousand years. Now these two notions are clearly at var- 
iance with plain and well understood passages of the sacred 
writings. In Luke i, 32, 33, the angel, when addressing 
the Blessed Virgin, and speaking of the son which she was 
to bring forth, says : 

" He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom 
there shall be no end." 

From these words we may rightly infer that the future 
kingdom of Christ is to last, not alone for a thousand 
years, but for all eternity. 

A terrestrial paradise, after the last judgment, is also very 

clearly set aside by what we read in Matt, xxv, 34, where 

are given the words with which Christ will receive the elect 

on the day of final retribution : 

" Come ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world." 

Hence, the good, after judgment day, will possess a king- 
dom, prepared not then, but one created from the founda- 
tion of the world. 

Now, that we have given the reader a statement of the 
Millennium, as planned by Cerinthus, and adduced passages 
of the scriptures that at once pulverize such a monstrous air- 
castle, we do not think it would be just to withhold the 



ALETHAURION. 



135 



knowledge of the fact that even many of the more ancient 
Fathers were also believers in an earthly paradise, to last a 
thousand years. After which the blessed would be. trans- 
lated to heaven, there to enjoy the beatific vision and be 
happy for eternity in the possession of God. It must be 
borne in mind, however, that they did not knowingly borrow 
the idea of Cekinthus. 

The Fathers of the Church, in ancient times, were aware 
of the fact that they had nothing to learn from heretics. 
They knew that in. the scriptures and the divine traditions 
of the Church were contained all the truths necessary for 
man to know, in order to be saved. Hence, unlike some of 
our modern chivalrous doctors, they did not in their writings 
pull the sting out of the truth, lest it might wound the feel- 
ings of the heterodox. They did not spare the lash, because 
they did not value the praises of those whose backs required 
it. They did not squint after puffs from heretics, because 
they knew that "the approbation of fools is ignominy." — 
Prov. in, 35. 

The writer willingly confesses that he has not read all that 
the Fathers have written. But, of those portions that he 
has read, he can safely say that he has found nothing in 
them that might lead him to suppose that their authors had 
even the remotest idea of attempting the difficult feat of 
catching two hares at once, in an open field — of stating the 
truth, and giving satisfaction to the enemies of the Church 
at the same time. 

When an heretical man, who is not a simpleton, praises 
the writings of a Catholic divine on a controverted point, it 
is a clear proof that the said writings are worthless. A wild 
goose can never be taught to admire the flap of the eagle's 
wing, and a man has an instinctive dislike to what he feels 
is really damaging to a cause with which he is indentified. 
Luther hated the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas. 

We doubt very much whether any one of our readers has 
ever seen in a Protestant newspaper, or heard from the lips 



136 



ALETHAURION. 



of a Protestant preacher, a single word in praise of an allocu- 
tion or encyclical letter of Pius IX. 

But we have read extravagant encomiums from Protestant 
pens of a couple of works of these latter days, which we 
believe have been of about as much service to the cause of 
truth and the Church, as a painted wooden sword would 
have been to the cause of Grecian liberty at the battle of 
Marathon. 

We have been led to these digressionary remarks with 
the view of showing that the Fathers of the Church, in prim- 
itive times, were not the men to copy or imitate the follies 
of heretics. Hence, if we find some of them entertaining 
notions about a Millennium, we are not to suppose for a 
moment that they were borrowed from Cerinthus, but that 
they had an origin altogether distinct. What this origin 
was, we will exinain in a future chajjter. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 



THE MILLENNIUM. 

In our last chapter we spoke of the Millennium, as advo- 
cated by Cerinthus. We saw that the ideas entertained by 
him of this blessed, but imaginary period, were inconsistent 
with certain plain passages of the inspired writings. Hence, 
w r e rejected the entire story as an heretical fable. 

There is, however, another very ancient belief on this 
subject, which, though likewise false, is yet deserving of 
more respect, on account of the good names connected 
w T ith it. 

Certain it is that several of the most ancient Fathers, such 
as Justin Martyr, Ireneus, Tertullian and others, were 
believers in a Millennium. Theirs, however, was different 
from that dreamt of by Cerinthus. In the opinion of the 
Fathers, of whom we have spoken, the Millennium would 



ALETHAUEION. 



137 



be the one thousand years immediately preceding the day of 
general judgment. At the beginning of that period Christ, 
the Saviour, was to come on earth again, and live among men 
in a visible manner. 

All wars would cease, and justice, peace and happiness be 
the lot of man. Thus the good would have a foretaste, on 
earth, of the things that were in store for them beyond the 
skies. 

This idea of a Millennium is certainly a pleasing thought 
to dwell on, nor should we tread otherwise than lightly on 
the graves of those venerable men, our ancestors in the faith, 
who fondly looked for such an epoch of peace and blessed- 
ness on earth. 

Yet the interest of truth requires us to state that such an 
expectation, on their part, was indeed a vain one. The life 
of man will always be, as it was in the clays of holy Job, a 
warfare upoii this earth. Job. viii, 1. 

It is only after the Archangel shall have stood, with one 
foot upon the sea and one foot upon the land, and shall have 
sworn, by the authority of God, that time shall be no more, 
that the children of Adam will enjoy that peace and happi- 
ness of body and soul so fondly hoped for by the millennial 
Fathers. 

Pabias, the bishop of Hierapolis, appears to have been the 
first of the ancient Fathers who believed in a Millennium. 

He was the Disciple of John the Elder (not the Apos- 
tle), and like the vast majority of those bishops of the 
primitive days, was a man of rare and solid piety, united 
with a zeal that death alone could extinguish. He had, 
however, a propensity, which, though innocent in itself, is 
apt to lead its professor estray, if not regulated by good 
judgment. 

He was untiring in his efforts to learn all about the Apos- 
tles. Old men who had seen and conversed with them were 
always welcome visitors at his house. They were invited to 
tell all they knew, and our good bishop took down carefully 



138 



ALETHAURION. 



the substance of what he had heard, without ever questioning 
the veracity of the author. 

His own goodness of heart and truthfulness, united with a 
proclivity for listening to marvelous stories, seemed to have 
prevented the idea from once entering his mind that people 
will sometimes exaggerate, and even descend to falsehood. 

The upshot of all this misplaced confidence was that in 
the book written by him, and entitled : "An .Exposition of 
the Words of our Lord," he got bad, good and indifferent 
things hopelessly mixed. One of these items was that 
regarding a Millennium. 

We remarked in the previous chapter that those of the 
early Fathers, who were believers in the Millennium, did not 
get the idea from heretics. That is true of all those who 
came after Papias. They appear to have been led into the 
mistake by his book. But, so far as Papias himself is con- 
cerned, the matter is not as clear. 

We know that heretics are very uncertain quantities. 
Hence, it is just possible that some old gray-headed follower 
of Cerixthus might have palmed himself off as a good 
Catholic on such an innocent and unsuspecting man, and told 
him a long tale about the Millennium, as something he had 
heard from the Apostles. 

Papias was always open to conviction, especially when 
loud sounding stories were told him. We can easily imagine 
we see the good man, all eyes and ears, with his parchment 
extended before him on the table, taking down all the facts 
and circumstances of the wonderful tale, as they came from 
the lips of his oily, but unscrupulous guest. Eusebius, the 
Father of Church history, while praising the simple piety 
and zeal of Papias, confesses, nevertheless, that he was a 
man of very slender intellectual powers (ingenii quidem 
pertenuis). We can well admit that there must have been 
a deficiency, somewhere or other, in the mental faculties of 
a man who was so unreasonably credulous. 

Though Papias is justly blamed by the historian for too 



ALETHAURION, 



139 



much credulity, yet we do not wish to conceal a circum- 
stance that may be urged in his favor. His surmises about 
the Millennium may not have been based altogether on the 
mere heresay of persons whose authority was questionable. 

There is, in fact, a very obscure passage in the Book of 
Revelation that could easily have been twisted by himself, or 
by others for him, into a prophecy of a future Millennium. 
We give the entire passage, and an explanation of it, which 
we have taken, substantially, from St. Augustine, De Civi- 
tate Dei, book xx, ch. 7, 8, 9. The passage reads as 
follows : 

" And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of 
the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on 
the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and satan, and bound him 
for a thousand years. And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut 
him up, and set a seal on him, that he should no more seduce the nations, 
till the thousand years be finished : and after that he must be loosed a 
little time." (Eev. xx.) 

The thousand years spoken of, during which Christ is to 
reign with the saints, mean, according to St. Augustine, not 
the Millennium of Papias, but the entire period from the 
Saviour's death to the coming of Antichrist. 

The word, a thousand, is often taken in the scriptures to 
signify a very large, but indefinite number. Pss. 104, 89 ; 
Job 9. The angel that descended from heaven and bound 
Satan, is no other than the Saviour, who by His death and 
passion broke the power of Satan. ' 4 And he cast him into 
a bottomless pit." By the bottomless pit we may undei- 
stand the hearts of impious men, such as that of Bismarck. 
He is said to be cast into the bottomless pit, not because he 
did not exist there already, but, being forbidden from taking 
possession of true believers, he takes, on that account, more 
formal possession of the wicked. In other words, being cast 
out of the man, he takes control of the sivine, and urges 
them on to the precipice. Bismarck, for example, may be 
said to be now more perfectly possessed by the devil than 
he was before he began to persecute the followers of the 



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ALETHAUEION. 



Saviour. "And set a seal upon him that he should no more 
seduce the nations, till the thousand years be finished." 
That is, the Saviour restricted the power of Satan, and pre- 
vented him from any longer seducing the predestined. The 
seal was set that it might not be known in this world who 
those are that appertain to Satan, and who do not. "And 
after that he must be loosed for a little while." That is, 
when the thousand years are finished, in other words, when 
the end of the world is about to come, or about three and a 
half years before the clay of general judgment, Satan will 
again be let loose, and by means of Antichrist, will raise 
such a persecution and commotion in the world, as shall not 
have been seen since time began. Now, though this passage 
of scripture, rightly understood, is far from proving that 
there will be a Millennium, yet it must be confessed there 
is enough in it to have strengthened in his belief such a man 
as Papias. 

In our next we will treat of Ebion and the JVicJwIaites . 



CHAPTER XXX. 



EBION AND NICHOLAUS. 

We now approach the close of the first century of the 
Christian era, and have to notice only two more heresiarchs. 
The one was called Ebion, and the other rejoiced in the cog- 
nomen of Nicholaus. Ebion comes first, in order of time, 
and we give him the same place in this notice. 

The origin of this wretch is involved in obscurity. The 
following facts, however, regarding him, are gleaned from 
ancient writings. He was by race a Jew, and appears to have 
been a man of little or no education. Whether this hap- 
pened by reason of neglect, or because his intellect was such 
.-as not to admit of polish from books, we are unable to state 
with accuracy sufficient to make a record of it here. 



ALETHAUEION. 



141 



His name, Ebion, signifies in Hebrew a beggar. But, 
whether he got the title on account of extreme poverty, or 
because of his naturally low and sordid nature, it would be 
hard to tell at this late day. In person, Ebion was rather 
below the middle size, but he had an iron constitution. His 
hair, which he allowed to flow down on his shoulders, was 
gray from early youth. Yet there was nothing venerable in 
his countenance, nothing that called forth the respect of 
those who happened to come into contact with him. Quite 
the contrary. His face lacked every manly trait. His chin 
was short, and so shaped as to give the mouth a form like 
that of a half opened clam. The forehead was receding and 
narrow, the eyes dull and bloodshot, looking as if they had 
been taken out and boiled, at some period of his life, and 
then carelessly reset. 

How such a man, deformed in features, with intelligence 
scarcely superior to a baboon, could have succeeded in 
becoming the author of a sect, may well excite wonder. 
The heart of man is certainly a mystery. Yet if we look 
into the matter, it will not appear more strange that Ebiox 
should have had followers, than that men, otherwise intelli- 
gent, among the Pagans, should have adored idols of wood 
and stone. Heresy and all false religions are species of 
idolatry. They spring from human pride, and are so many 
rebellions against God, and the order which He has estab- 
lished here on earth. 

Without going all the way to the dominions of Beelzebub 
to find a reason for their existence, we may discover one 
nearer home. It may be found, in germ, in the heart of 
every man whom vice has depraved. 

Take any one, whose pride and self-conceit are inordinate, 
and he will with great difficulty give due honor to his equals. 
Not only will such a one refuse to recognize the merits of an 
equal, he will try to diminish the glory of a superior, because 
in every one that is exalted above him, he sees an obstacle 
to the recognition of his own supposed merits. 



142 



ALETHAURION. 



What more natural, then, than that the Pagans of old, 
inflated as they were with pride, should, in the words of St. 
Paul : 

"Have changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of 
the image of a corruptible man, and of birds, and of four-footed beasts, 
and of creeping things.*' Komans I, 23. 

By doing so, they placed themselves above what they 
worshipped. Every time Julius Caesar took a censer into 
his hands before the statue of Hercules, his pride, instead 
of being diminished, was greatly increased, because he felt 
his own superiority to the statue that he affected to adore. 
Man, by idolatry, places himself above God, and this is 
why the worship of an idol is the greatest sin a man can 
commit. There is more genuine malice in it than in any 
other crime. 

The heretic, too, offers incense to a statue, and thinks he 
glorifies himself. But he glories in his shame. 

Dolllnger, Reixkixs, et al. ii, could not bear the mild 
and heavenly authority of Pius IX, and yet they lick the 
dust before Dagon Bismarck. We have seen heretics won- 
dering, more than once, at the respect and love shown by 
Catholics toward the bishop and priests of the Church. 

We have heard them making light of it. Yet if such 
persons had only enough of intelligence, they would see at 
once that the Catholic, in honoring the priest or bishop, does 
so because he recognizes in them the representatives of 
God. 

But how is it with the heretics. They get on that pedes- 
tal, which they call the pulpit, some idol of a preacher; they 
offer him incense, but never the respect nor submission that 
Catholics entertain for their prelates ; but just as soon as 
their idol begins to be anything else but an idol, they break 
and pitch him out of doors. 

These observations may throw some light on Ebion's case. 
The driveller got followers from among men imbued with 
the spirit of heresy, on the same principle that dogs and cats 
had worshippers at Memphis. 



ALETHAURIOX. 



143 



Let us now consider some of his errors. Ebiox taught 
his followers that Christ was only a mere man. Yet not 
all his Disciples believed this. Some of them admitted that 
Christ was indeed conceived by the Holy Ghost, yet 
denied that He had a being prior to H?s conception. St. 
Jerome, in coital script eccles, says it was to refute this error 
that St. Johx wrote his gospel. Hence, at the beginning, 
the Evangelist lays down the doctrine that the Word was 
with God, and the Word was God. 

Ebiox also taught that the Mosaic rites and sacraments 
were to be observed, along with those instituted by Christ. 
He appears to have copied this, along with some other bright 
ideas, from his predecessor or cotemporary, Cerixthus. 

He rejected all the gospels, except that of Matthew, 
which he called the gospel according to the Hebrews. 

Our hero could not bear to hear the name of Paul men- 
tioned. He rejected all the letters of the great 'Apostle, and 
called him an apostate. This reminds us of an Episcopal 
minister we once met, who called the Pope a heretic. 

St. Paul appears to have been particularly hateful to most 
of fchose primitive heretics, and we may presume he often 
gave them cause. Modern heretics affect to be very fond of 
him and his teachings. But, were he to return to earth, he 
would make their ears tingle in such a manner that they 
would stand aside and despise him. 

Heresiarchs have always been notorious liars. Hence, we 
must not wonder at learning that our hero was also a good 
hand at the business. He put a report in circulation that 
both the father and mother of St. Paul were Gentiles. This 
he did to raise prejudice against him among the Jews. He 
further^stated that St. Paul, having come to Jerusalem, had 
stayed there a long time before embracing Judaism, and 
might never have done so, if he had not fallen in love with 
the daughter of the high priest. 

According to Ebiox, it was in hope of receiving her hand 
in marriage that Saul or St. Paul gave up idolatry. But, 



144 



ALETHAURION. 



on being refused by the high priest, he got angry, and 
undertook to demolish him and his religion. Ebion is said 
to have died in a drunken lit. 

He was succeeded in the heretical primacy by one Nich- 
olaus. Whether he is the same who was elected one of the 
seven deacons, is a question not yet decided among histori- 
ans. The probability is that he was a different man. 

Nicholaus taught nearly all the errors and follies of those 
who had preceeded him. The morals of his followers were 
most corrupt. Hence, in Revelation, chap, n, the angel of 
the Church of Ephesus, i. e., the bishop, is praised, because, 
says the Holy Ghost: "Thou hast hated the deeds of the 
Nicholases, which I also hate." 

This was the last heresy of the first century. The reader 
must not suppose that those of which we have been speaking 
all ended with their founders; such is, by no means, the 
case. Many lasted until late in the third century, and even 
to the be^inninor of the fourth. But, like the sects of 
our day, they were continually changing from one belief 
to another. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 



THE VIRGIN MARY. 

We now willingly turn away from the heretical labyrinths 
of the first century, and invite the reader to a stroll, not 
through the bone-yard of outcasts, but along paths made 
sacred by the footprints of the incarnate Word, and of those 
chosen by Him to co-operate in the work of saving mankind. 

We intend, in a word, to hold up the mirror to the first 
century of our era, and give a reflection of the men and 
women who then lived, and of the deeds done, in days long 
ago, by our ancestors in the faith. 

In so doing, we desire to present a picture, which may be 



ALETHAURION. 



145 



hung up alongside of that other already given, of those 
heretics and fantastic errors, which, like brandy blossoms on 
a boy's, face, have excited our disgust by their precocious 
depravity. 

Let us beodn with a notice of her, "above whom there is 
nothing but God, and beneath whom is all else that is not 
God," — the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

We shall, however, confine our remarks to what is simply 
historical, in regard to her earthly pilgrimage, and refer the 
reader, for further edification, to her "Glories" written by 
that latest of the doctors of the Church — St. Alphonsus 
Liguori. We may observe in passing, however, that in the 
work alluded to there are many things which the infidel and 
the scoffer wrest to their own perdition, as they do the best 
gifts of even the Creator. 

The Blessed Virgin was of the tribe of Juda, lineally 
descended from David, King of Israel, as we are taught by 
Matthew and Luke, in their respective gospels. 

The writer has read, somewhere, a sermon in her praise, 
in which considerable ado was made over the fact that she 
w r as of royal stock, insinuating thereby that it w T as honor- 
able to the Saviour to have been the descendant of an 
earthly king. 

Such a style of speaking or writing does but little good, 
and the attempt to make our Saviour eminently respectable, 
by reason of his earthly lineage, betokens the court lackey 
rather than the Apostle. 

From what we read in the scriptures, it does not appear 
that either St. Joseph or the Blessed Virgin were held in any 
special esteem among their neighbors, because of their 
descent from King David. There were, no doubt, many 
others living in their day, who could have made good their 
claims to such an honor, did they esteem it worth contend- 
ing for. The veneration justly due the Blessed Virgin, is 
founded on a far higher title. 



146 



ALETHAURION. 



Men are great only so far as they are chosen by God for 
the accomplishment of exalted purposes. She was chosen 
for the highest of which a creature is capable. 

A patent of nobility, thus gained, out-weighs and dims all 
others. From the moment the angel had said to her, "Be- 
hold thou shalt conceive," the glory borrowed of King David 
was lost in superior effulgence, reflected from the face of 
the Most High. 

The parents of the Blessed Virgin were Joachim and Anna, 
whose names signify, respectively, ' ' The Preparation," and 
"The Grace of the Lord." Of their history we knew but 
little that rests on a solid basis. So excellent an opportu- 
nity, however, of giving play to the imagination could not 
have escaped the keen vision of the versatile and romantic 
Greek. Hence the existence of the book, " De ortu Vir- 
ginis" in which miracles and other things extraordinary 
abound, and in which there is contained a vast amount of 
information, that might be valuable if true, or at least in- 
teresting, if probable. 

St. John, in chap, xix of 'his gospel, speaks of a Mary of 
Cleophas, the sister of the Virgin. With this exception, we 
have no evidence going to show that the mother of our Lord 
had, according to the flesh, any other sister or brother. 

It is uncertain how long she lived on this earth ; neither 
do we know the place of her death. Some say she accom- 
panied St. John to Ephesus ; others maintain that she con- 
tinued to reside in Jerusalem, where, about twelve years 
after the Saviour's ascension, surrounded by the Apostles, 
drawn from distant lands miraculously together by her bed- 
side, she surrendered her pure soul into the hands of God. 
Her body was laid in a tomb in Gethsemane, where it rested 
for three days ; but before it had seen corruption, it was 
reunited with her soul, and both were gloriously assumed 
into heaven, accompanied by the choirs of blessed spirits, 
who sang her praises, until, kneeling at the foot of the 



ALETHAURION. 



147 



throne, she was crowned queen of angels and of men, with 
the brio'htest diadem that even heaven could afford. 

Bespect for the Virgin Mother of the Saviour is one of 
those marks by which we may easily distinguish the true 
believer from heretics. 

The persistency of the latter in trying to depreciate the 
Virgin has often elicited our surprise, not to say enkindled 
our wrath. Though no admirers of what is called muscular 
Christianity, we may smile, at least, at the burning zeal of 
that Hibernian, who, during Know-Nothing times in Cin- 
cinnati, held a man by the seat of his pantaloons, from a 
third story window, until he had duly repented of his im- 
pertinence, and at Mike's suggestion, piously and piteously 
invoked the protection of the Virgin, three distinct times. 

All this agrees with what Ned O'Hara, the blacksmith, 
told the Methodist preacher, years ago, in Kanturk, Ireland. 
Ned was, at the time, shoeing a mule that had a stiff neck, 
but was limber about the legs. 

"Now, Mr. O'Hara," said the sivaddler, "I can prove to 
you by a half dozen texts of scripture that the Virgin Mary 
was no better than your mother or mine." Ned dropt his 
hammer and bounced some ten feet away from the mule. 
" While you are talking," said he to the swaddler, " let's 
keep at a safe distance from the business end of that animal. 
I have noticed that when any one begins to blaspheme near 
him, he always begins to kick." When the preacher had 
finished, he waited for Vulcan's reply. " Well," said Ned, 
as he picked up his hammer, ''you may have proved, to 
your own satisfaction, that the Virgin is no better than your 
mother ; yet, of one thing I am very certain ; there is a vast 
difference between their children — between her son and your 
mother's." 

Ned struck the nail on the head that time, and clinched it 
by recommending the preacher never to set foot in his shop 
again, while that mule was around. "He has," said Ned, 



148 



ALETHAURION. 



"a strange habit of shaking the dust of his heels off against 
blasphemers." 

It has often been a puzzle to us why heretics hate the 
blessed Virgin. They admit the Saviour's divine mission, 
and place all reliance on His merits, as we do, yet, they can- 
not endure His mother ! 

After much reflection on this subject, we have come to 
the settled conclusion that the old serpent, which is the 
devil and Satan, is at the bottom of it all. This view of 
the case will appear reasonable after considering what 
we read in Genesis iii, 15. Jehovah, addressing the ser- 
pent, says : 

"I will place enmities between thee and the woman, between thy seed 
and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for 
her heel." 

This is evidently a prophecy. The "woman" here 
spoken of can be no other than the Blessed Virgin. Eve 
certainly is not meant, for she was crushed by the serpent. 
It is stated that there shall be enmity between the woman 
and the serpent ; that the serpent shall lie in wait for her 
heel, etc. Now, as the power of the Devil does not, and 
never did, extend to the person of the Blessed Virgin, hence 
he tries, by his agents, the heretics and unbelievers, to 
diminish her earthly glory. This appears to us the only 
true solution of that blind hatred which heretics manifest 
towards the ever blessed and venerable mother of our 
Saviour. 

Our next will be about St. Peter. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



SIMON PETER. 

Almost nineteen hundred years have now been unwrapt 
from the spool of time since there lived in a small house 
on the shore of the sea of Gallilee, a veteran fisherman, 



ALETHAURION. 



149 



Jonah. He is not identical, however, with that other, who 
had the misunderstanding with the whale. The Jonah of 
whom we speak, was a fisherman, but not a whaler. 

He was a Jew of strict observance, and the grunting of 
swine was as odious to his ears as the aroma of Cincinnati 
ham is agreeable to the olfactories of the modern degenerate 
sons of Abraham. 

Though, on account of poverty, he was not a burning 
and shining light in the synagogue of his native town, yet 
he deserved, and retained until death, the esteem of his 
countrymen. Jonah was an unsophisticated Jew ; a man 
without guile, who readily overlooked the short-comings of 
those who represented Judaism in his day, and prayerfully 
awaited the coming of the Messiah, who would make straight 
the crooked paths of the Lord. 

It was not granted him to see in the flesh, the Desired of 
all nations; for he was gathered to his fathers before the 
fame of Jesus had passed beyond the confines of Nazareth. 

Jonah left behind him two sons, sole heirs to his fishing 
bark and nets, as well as to his many virtues. The first 
received the name of Andrew, and the other was called 
Simon. 

After having deposited, along with many tears, the re- 
mains of their aged father in the tomb, they followed the 
profession to which they had been raised — that of fisher- 
men. 

At this laborious, and sometimes dangerous occupation, 
they spent several years of their early youth and manhood. 
Though obliged, by their calling, to often steer many 
leagues from home, yet on no Sabbath was either found absent 
from the synagogue ; for propitious winds or good muscle 
brought them in sight of their native Bethsaida invariably 
on the day previous. 

One might suppose that such simple piety and fidelity to 
the call of duty would have gained them the esteem, even 
the admiration of the Pharisee who read the law and 



150 



ALETHAU KION . 



conducted the public worship of Sabbath days in the syna- 
gogue. 

It was just the reverse. The two sons of Jonah were 
not favorites with the proud and ostentatious Rabbi. An 
incautious expression of Simon's had greatly tended to 
widen the breach. 

When asked one day, why he did not, like others, go 
frequently to pay his respects and offer his homage to their 
good and holy Rabbi, he replied : " The God of our father 
is better honored by pure love of heart, and by righteous 
works, than by that feigned zeal for the law which idolizes 
those who have seated themselves on the chair of Moses." 

This saying was reported to the Pharisee, who construed 
it, at once, into an impertinent attack upon his own dignity. 
The others felt it to.be a most withering rebuke of their own 
subserviency and smallness. Yet it did not keep them from 
vieing with one another in offering the Rabbi incense, to 
gain their personal ends. 

Our good Rabbi went off into a towering rage, at the 
thought that an ignorant fisherman should have presumed to 
find fault ; should have even gone so far as to express an 
opinion about what was pleasing in the sight of the Lord. 
He was somewhat calmed down by an expression of his first 
scribe, who said that the " contamination arising from con- 
tact with Gentilism would soon destroy the hedge around the 
law, and all legitimate authority would be overwhelmed by 
a deluge of Gentile liberalism, unless strong measures were 
taken, and opposition put down." "My opinion,", said 
another scribe, older and of a more serious turn, " is, that 
we can best sustain our authority by first beginning to re- 
form our own lives, and — " " Stop, at once, and leave my 
presence forthwith," said the irate Rabbi ; "I see thou art 
also tainted." 

After these things Simon held his peace, though inter- 
nally he wished for authority to say to that pompous Phar- 
isee, " Now, why tempt you God to put a yoke on our 



ALETHAUEION. 



151 



necks which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 
Why seek to put yourself in the place God alone should 
hold in man's heart? Why seek to be idolized? " 

Being, however, a truly conscientious man, he doubted 
whether he would be justified in showing any disapproval of 
the acts of those who stood above him for fear that he might 
lessen their authority and power of doing good among the 
people. 

He referred the whole matter to God, satisfied that He 
would in His own good time, provide a remedy for the evils 
that appeared almost incurable. 

Not many years after his doubts were dissipated, when he 
had heard from the lips of Him who spoke, as did man 
never before nor since, the most scathing denunciations 
against those same Pharisees. It was with a satisfaction, 
mingled with pity, that he saw their hypocrisy laid bare — 
that he heard them called " blind and leaders of the blind ; 
a generation of vipers and whited sepulchres." 

Some time after these events, news came to Bethsaida, 
and the surrounding country, that a great Prophet had arisen 
in Israel, and that God had visited His people. This extra- 
ordinary man was called John. Thousands flocked from all 
quarters to hear his preaching ; and being moved to repent- 
ance, were baptized by him in the Jordan. 

As the scepter had passed from the hands of Juda, and 
the seventy weeks of the prophet Daniel were nearly or 
quite at an end, many thought this extraordinary man might 
possibly be the Messiah. The innocence of his life coupled 
with his great zeal and eloquence, procured him many dis- 
ciples. Among the latter was Andrew, son of Jonah. 
Simon, having married a wife, remained at Bethsaida. On 
the return 01 his brother from the banks of the Jordan, he 
was noticeably affected by the recital of all that Andrew 
had seen and heard. Simon felt persuaded that the Messiah 
had come, and that he was no other than this wonderful 



152 



ALETHAURION. 



man. "No," said Andrew — "He said 'I am not the Mes- 
siah — There will come a man after me, the latchet of whose 
shoes I am not worthy to loose ; him you shall hear." 
John 1, 27. 

From this time forward, these two good men anxiously 
awaited the developement of events. 

But one thing forced itself upon their observation, viz : 
That John sought no intimacy with the Scribes or Phar- 
isees ; on the contrary, he reproved their vices, and bade 
them beware of the wrath to come. 

Thus the time passed on, until one day, as they were 
preparing to cast their nets into the sea, they saw a man on 
the shore, not far off from where they stood. He appeared 
the very perfection of humanity in form and feature, 
dressed in a crimson toga that swept the ground ; his rich 
auburn locks descended in ringlets far down his azure man- 
tle. His beard parted naturally and gracefully at the point 
of his chin. The expression of his face was extremely 
mild; some might call it sad and thoughtful. But a fire 
darted from his eyes, that inspired the beholder with un- 
dying love and veneration, or else mortal dread and Late. 
This man was Jesus of Nazareth, the only begotten Son 
of God. 

He had come to call that poor unknown fisherman to fill 
an office that is the most exalted on earth — to be the founder 
of a dynasty that is to last forever. 

Our next will be about the public life of St. Peter. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 



THE PUBLIC LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

Having, in the last chapter, spoken of the hidden life of 
Simon Peter, we think it opportune, in the present, to give 
a synopsis of his public career. 



ALETHAUEION. 



153 



The writer will not attempt to portray, in his own words, 
that portion of the life of the Prince of the Aj)ostles, which 
was spent in company with the Saviour of mankind. 

The narration of all that was done and said during: that 
eventful period, he believes it best to leave with the Evan- 
gelists, inspired by the Holy Ghost, and with such impious 
Frenchmen as Erxest Kenan. 

All that was necessary of the life of Christ and His deal- 
ings with the Apostles was written once by the Evangelists, 
Matthew, Mark, Luke .and John, and we see no necessity 
of attempting to improve on what the Holy Ghost inspired 
them to say.- 

An ancient philosopher was once asked to give a definition 
of God. He requested one day to prepare an answer. 
When the day was up, he wanted a week. When the week 
had passed, he declared that a year would scarcely suffice 
to formulate a proper reply. 

The philosopher was no ordinary man ; his hesitation 
proved it — though a supercilious editor of* one of our daily 
newspapers would have got through the work with one 
scratch of his pencil. 

Those who attempt to write the life of Christ ought to 
learn a lesson from the philosopher. 

Written by an uninspired man, the life of the Saviour is 
either impious or flat. Even men of ability misunderstand 
altogether, very frequently, the character of those they at- 
tempt to describe. How much greater will the failure not 
be, when pygmies attempt to measure the "uncreated wis- 
dom of the Father." 

Hence, we forbear going farther back into the public life 
of Peter, than to the period of the Saviour's ascension into 
heaven . 

This, however, shall not prevent us from taking up, in 
future articles, some plain texts of scripture and showing 
therefrom that Christ gave to him an authority and jurisdic- 
tion over His entire church. 



154 



ALETHAURION. 



After the bloody tragedy on Mount Calvary, and the glori- 
ous resurrection of our Lord from the tomb, the gospel in- 
forms us that he appeared to His Apostles and Disciples, at 
various times, for forty days. During that period he gave 
them instructions concerning all they should do aud say, 
after He had ascended to the Father. 

When the mystic days had passed, He gathered them to- 
gether, and in their company, proceeded to the top of 
Mount Olivet, not far outside the city of Jerusalem. There, 
with His face turned toward the setting sun, He bade them 
adieu 

Then, raising His eyes and his arms at the same time to 
heaven, he was wafted by an unseen force into the domin- 
ion of the stars. 

The Apostles and Disciples remained, as it were, in a 
dream for some time. Almost the whole truth had flashed 
upon their minds. That mysterious being, with whom they 
had walked and conversed for upwards of three years, had 
vanished from their gaze — had left them to the ordinary 
course of providence. 

The Italian poet, Dante, many centuries after, expressed: 
well what we may presume to have been their feelings on the 
occasion : 

Nessun Maggior dolore 

Che ricordarsi del tempo f elice 
Nella Miseria . 

While they were thus overwhelmed with sadness, two 
angels stood beside them and said: " Ye men of Galilee, 
why stand you looking up into heaven? This Jesus who is 
taken up from you into heaven, so shall He come, as you 
have seen Him going up to heaven." Acts 1, ii. 

They were thus awakened from their dream, and slowly 
and sadly descended from the mount, to take up their abode 
in an upper chamber of a house in the city. 

Simon Peter was now looked upon by all as foremost 
man of the band. Mysterious words, spoken months be- 



ALETHAUEION. 



155 



fore by Him who had just left them, now came back to 

their minds. They remembered that it had been said, on 

one occasion, to Simon: 

• ' Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church and the 
gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the 
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth 
shall be loosed also in heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth 
shall be bound also in heaven." Matt. xvi. 

Knowing these things, all lent him a willing ear. 

Hence, when he spoke of the necessity of electing 
another, in the place of Judas, all listened, and proceeded 
to the work, by which Mathias was numbered an Apostle, 
with the eleven who had remained faithful. 

Those were days of doubt and perplexity. But, after 
the Holy Ghost had descended upon them, on the day of 
Pentecost, doubt gave way to certainty, and prayerful in- 
activity, to much energy in the Lord. 

There were many at that time, in Jerusalem, Jews, de- 
vout men of every nation under heaven, and though using 
different tongues, yet each and every one of them under- 
stood the Apostles, who spoke only in the Syro-Chaldaic 
language. Some of the most hardened, on perceiving this 
wonderful fact, were loath to believe their own ears, and 
began to say that the Apostles were drunk with new wine. 
But Peter, with that courage and lofty bearing, for which 
we shall henceforth see him distinguished, refuted the silly 
assertion by reminding those who had made it that it was 
too soon in the day. 

He preached to the multitude on the divinity of Jesus 
of Nazareth. Nor did he preach in vain. 

That same day no fewer than three thousand persons 
were converted to the faith and baptized. Let the Baptists 
and Campbellites, who believe in ducking, arise and explain 
how so many persons could have been immersed in so short 
a time. 

Our next will be a continuation. 



156 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



THE PUBLIC LIFE OF ST. PETER. 

There was in the temple at Jerusalem, a certain gate, 
which, by reason of its architectural grandeur and elaborate 
finish was called, by excellence, The Beautiful. 

That portion of the hill of Zion which lay in front of it 
had become, at the time we speak of, the favorite resort 
of all those who felt piously inclined, or had nothing else 
to do. 

Strangers visiting the holy places, would no more have 
thought of returning home before having seen that beautiful 
gate, than a modern Belgian would dream of setting out 
from Lourdes until he had tasted of the holy waters, and 
filled a bottle or two, to comfort and protect him on the 
way back 

Along with troops of native and foreign idlers, there were 
.also to be found, almost at any hour of the day, not a few 
beggars near the beautiful gate. Some of these were blind 
of an eye, others in both, many were paralytic, and several 
club-footed from infancy. 

On great feast days these wretched creatures reaped an 
abundant harvest. Mostly all who went into the temple, 
first sought the favor of God by contributing a little to alle- 
viate the miseries of His suffering children. 

The. Scribes, and more especially the Pharisees, were 
liberal contributors on such occasions, and the larger the 
gathering the more did they disburse. 

There was this difference, however, between their way of 
giving and that of others. A Pharisee or Scribe never 
contributed anything as he passed into the temple. He was 
always in a hurry. His anxiety to go into the presence of 
the Lord was such that he could not think of stopping on 



ALETHAURION . 



157 



the way to look at beggars. But, on coming out, the most 
approved system was to pass some distance beyond, as if 
wrapt in profound meditation, and then sling back over the 
left shoulder what each wished to give. The distance was 
also regulated by custom. 

A common Scribe of the lowest grade, was not allowed 
to pass more than one rod beyond the object of his pity ; 
whereas a Pharisee, by reason of superior dignity, could 
cover five rods and three quarters. 

There was, as a matter of course, a scramble among the 
idlers for the money thus thrown. The pushing and kick- 
ing that resulted, and the fights that sometimes arose, are 
said to have been highly refreshing to the vanity of the 
Pharisees. They did not care whether the right one got the 
money or the wrong one took possession of it. They wished 
the assembly to know that they were charitable to the poor, 
and that sufficed. 

The writer of this has heard some one say that the de- 
scendants of the Pharisees are numerous, even in our own 
day and generation ! It may be so. And it may further 
account for facts that we sometimes read of in the newspa- 
pers. We hear of men giving large sums to found or en- 
dow charitable or educational institutions, and then taking 
no further care or thought upon themselves of how mat- 
ters are managed. They throw their money back over 
the left shoulder, and let the strongest and most rapacious 
get it. 

These facts and observations bring us to a circumstance 
in the life of the Prince of the Apostles, which we now 
hasten to lay before the reader. Not long after the events, 
related in the last chapter, Peter and John went up to the 
temple to pray. It was three o'clock in the afternoon as 
they entered by the Beautiful Gate, where sat a man who 
had been lame from his birth. 

He had not a regular stall inside the porch, because his 
friends were too poor to get him one. The reader must 



158 



ALETHAURION. 



know that a beggar's stall, in a good location near the tem- 
ple, was equivalent to a small fortune. This wretched man, 
"who had a seat outside the porch, was scarcely accounted 
worthy to sit even that close to the aristocrats within ; for 
there are more grades of distinction among beggars than 
am on 2f kin us. 

Peter looked at him, and having observed that he did not 
belong to that sturdy class who begin to curse after they 
are refused, said, "look upon us." The man was surprised 
that any one should have spoken kindly to him or taken an 
interest in his welfare. He gazed earnestly into their faces, 
"hoping he should receive something from them." Then 
Peter said to him, " I have neither gold nor silver to bestow, 
but I will give you what I have." 

By this time the painful expression on the man's face had 
changed. The memory of mighty works, said to have been 
done by Jesus of Nazareth, had flashed across his mind. 
Hence, when Peter held out his hand and said : "In the 
name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk;" his 
faith received the finishing touch, and he leaped to his 
feet. 

When those who stood near saw this wonderful miracle 
there was much confusion, and rushing to and fro. Many 
rejoiced. But there were some of the Sadduces present 
who had seen Peter and John along with the Saviour. 
These were not pleased. " That Gallilean is not yet dead !" 
said Eabbi Kinchi. " I am afraid," said Rabbi Ben-Ezra, 
"that this will become known to every one in Jerusalem." 
" The case is too plain, and we can't deny it," said the 
Scribe Habakuk — " we must use our authority to put the 
actors in this matter down at once — that unfortunate crip- 
ple has been the cause of it all ; he too must be put out of 
the way." 

"I do not esteem him as worthy of a moment's consider- 
ation," replied Rabbi Ben-Ezra. "He is but a short 
horse, and it will not take long to curry him. But there 



ALETHAURION. 



159 



is that curly-headed fisherman, from Galilee, who, in these 
past few days appears to have changed entirely. He seems 
to have taken on himself a degree of authority that makes 
me nervous." 

"We must find some means to set limits to his annoy- 
ance." 

" There is no further use," he added after a pause, " in 
threatening them with expulsion from the synagogue. They 
don't appear to regard our menaces. We must become 
yet more friendly with the governor, and through him, we 
may get the thumb-screws fairly on them." " These Gen- 
tiles, after all," said the good Eabbi, "are great fellows. 
If we keep at the right side of them, we can get them to 
■do almost any thing we want done." 

"I doubt," said Rabbi Kinchi, "whether the governor 
himself can frighten them. That deceiver, whom we lately 
put out of the way, appears to have succeeded to a miracle 
in infusing his own ungovernable spirit into all he came in 
contact with. Moreover these fanatical men are dangerous 
on another account. Did they simply refuse to obey us 
and go quietly to perdition, it would not matter — the 
Gentiles do not heed us, and we get along without them. 
But these madmen not only do not listen to our instruc- 
tions, they even go so far as to assume authority over 
ourselves, and our good, simple, obedient people. 

" The worst feature of all," said Rabbi Kinchi, " is that 
their lives seem to be entirely blameless, yet they resist 
our authority with the precision of destiny, and the people 
appear inclined to go with them. Before taking ex- 
treme measures, we must threaten them. Legal proceed- 
ings have a terror for men of rustic mold which the refined 
can scarcely appreciate. Yet, with all this something tells 
me we are undone. It is true, we have concentrated all 
power in our own hands, but the people, and even the in- 
ferior officers, appear more and more ready, every day, for 
revolution. They have no confidence in us." 



160 



ALETHAURION. 



While the foregoing conversation was passing between 
those limbs of Beelzebub, a great crowd had followed the 
two Apostles to that part of the temple called Solomon's 
porch. 

There Peter again addressed the multitude, and con- 
verted five thousand. No doubt they were also baptized, 
then and there, as the three thousand had been, on the 
previous day. But they were not permitted to continue 
the good work unmolested. Our three zealous friends had 
matured their plans, and the consequence was the arrest of 
the Apostles. 

The man who had been lame got orders to scamper off 
home, and not come back until called for. 

The result of the trial, and also the subsequent course of 
St. Peter, we will see in a future chapter. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



THE trial. 

In the last chapter we related how Peter and John cured 
the cripple of forty years' standing, whom they had found at 
the gate of the temple, called The Beautiful. 

The people who saw this were greatly moved thereby ; and 
the idea that they who could work such miracles were really 
and truly ministers of God, began rapidly forming in the 
minds of all. There is no argument against a miracle. It is 
a clean, and should be a convincing proof, that he who 
works it is an authorized agent of the Divinity. 

The Scribes, Pharisees and other officers of the temple, 
knew this. Hence, instead of attempting to refute the 
Apostles, they wanted to cloak the matter up, and frighten 
Peter and John by having them arrested. The case is 
similar to that which happened years ago, in this same land 
in which we live. While the Blue laws were in force in the 



ALETHATJEION. 



161 



States of Connecticut and Massachusetts, priests were for- 
bidden, under pain of death, to teach or publicly exercise 
their ministry. The Puritans, a name synonymous with all 
that is small and pusillanimous in human nature, thus ac- 
knowledged the weakness of their cause, which could not 
bear the light of day nor ventilation at the hands of those 
harbingers of truth. The disposition to persecute is one of 
the marks of heresy. When manifested by a true believer > 
it is a sign that duty has been neglected and vice indulged. 

This spirit of persecution, inherent to religious error, is 
manifested, even at the present day, in the public school 
system. 

Years ago it became apparent to the more acute and far 
seeing of the sectarians, that it would be useless to attempt 
to compete, either single-handed or combined, with the 
Catholic Church, in the matter of education. They saw 
Catholic schools and colleges springing up over the land, as 
by the touch of the magician's wand. Heretical youths and 
maidens were received on equal terms with the children of 
those who had borne the burden of the day and the heat. 
Many having, under good training, gained a knowledge of 
the truth, abjured their errors, and pushed forward with an 
energy equal to that of Catholics to the manor born. Having 
been made free by the truth, they looked back with con- 
tempt on the flesh-pots, the onions and the garlic of Pro- 
testantism. 

Such good and holy results could not long have escaped 
the observation of the ministers of false religions ; and 
knowing that in a fair fight on the educational question, 
they stood little chance against the trained battalions of 
the Church, they sought, as heretics always do, an alliance 
with the State. Thus has the system of public schools been 
put as a yoke on the necks of the people. It was intended 
to fetter the action of the Church in the matter of sound 
Christian education. It was a new attempt to arrest Peter 
and Johx ; to keep them from preaching the truth. The 



162 



ALETHAURION. 



system is becoming, however, daily more and more op- 
pressive, even in the estimation of Protestants ; nor can 
incense, much longer, counteract its offensive odor. 

But let us return to our Apostles. They were arrested 
late in the afternoon, and spent the night in prison, which 
for a wonder, inclosed no others but themselves. 

The Scribes and Pharisees were, as a rule, great patrons 
of the jail. The poorer and more defenceless of the inhab- 
itants knew well that any little act of disrespect to a Rabbi 
would entitle them to free lodgings in quarters, where, for 
the time, they would be safe from mad dogs. That Pres- 
byterian minister, who hung his cat for killing a rat on 
the Sabbath day, was not near so fervid as the Pharisees. 
The Lord was to be honored in and through them, and 
insult to them was the same as impiety towards God. 

Peter and John, finding themselves within walls, were 
not disheartened. They even felt happy that they had 
been thought worthy to suffer for Christ. Neither were 
they solicitous in regard to what the decision might be. 
For not to speak of the fact that they were prepared to die, 
they knew that justice could not be so outraged as to con- 
demn them without a shadow of reason. 

Early in the morning there was much activity among the 
Scribes and Pharisees. Moses Hadder-Scan, surnamed 
the mouse , on account of his prying and furtive habits, was 
making himself quite busy hunting up evidence against the 
Apostles. 

He went to the high priest to make inquiries about a 
certain Malchus, who was reported to have had an ear am- 
putated by a cut from a sabre in the hand of Simon Peter, 
not many weeks previous. "He is just my man," chuckled 
the mouse to himself ; "having lost one of his ears, he will 
try to be avenged by bearing testimony against them." 
Hadder-Scan, however, did not care, in his heart, whether 
the Apostles were punished or let go. He had, with all 
this show of zeal, quite another object in view. 



ALETHAUEION. 



163 



There was at that time an important vacancy in the city 
which the high priest had the right to fill. Our friend 
Haddee thought that, to go and look for Malchus would 
form an excellent pretext to get better acquainted with the 
high priest, and thus advance his suit. 

When he had told his story, the high priest drew his 
brows together, until the skin on the back of his head be- 
came tight. "My advice to you, sir," said he, " is to let 
Malchus alone and mind your own business. It was such 
other shallow creatures as you ordered the arrest of those 
men on yesterday ; now the case is worse than ever, for we 
cannot punish them, and to let them off is to acknowledge 
a fault. The governor himself is in the city," said the high 
priest in soliloquy; "he looks melancholic, as if he fore- 
boded evil. At present, to attempt their conviction by our 
own witnesses would be dangerous," 

44 Go," said he to the mouse, "and tell Caiphas and 
John, and Alexander with the others of the priestly race, 
that at the third hour the trial will begin." Hadder-Scan 
bowed himself out, backward, and departed. "I see," 
said he to himself, "that I made a mistake. I should have 
waited until after dinner when he is mellow and in good 
humor — but I may succeed yet." 

At the third hour, the officers, with Annas and Caiphas 
at their head, were assembled in the judgment hall. The 
heavy clanking of chains soon announced that the prisoners 
were also on hand. They were told to be seated, .in the 
center of the semi-circle formed by their judges. As there 
were no witnesses to be examined, and, it being now fur- 
thermore evident that nothing could be made out of the 
case, the High Priest, Annas, for mere formality, asked by 
whose authority they did these things. 

This gave Peter an opportunity to preach about the 
Saviour, whom they had crucified. But they wondered ex- 
ceedingly that a man, whom they had hitherto regarded as 



164 



ALETHAURION. 



uncultured, should now speak so learnedly and with such 
eloquence. 

In the meantime the cripjDle came into the hall of judg- 
ment, and this filled them with fresh rage. 

"You may go," said the high priest to them, "this 
time, but on the next occasion we will not be so indul- 
gent," 

"We make no promises," answered Peter, "to desist 
from what we have been doing, for it is expedient that we 
should obey God rather than you." 

In our next we will speak about Ananias and Saphira, 
and make some observations on their conduct. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



ANANIAS AND SAPHIEA. 

Among the shining qualities possessed by the Pharisees 
and Scribes, about the period when Christianity made its 
appearance in the world was the following: They were 
complacent, to even a painful degree, toward the rich, 
and harsh in proportion to those who were not the favorites 
of fortune. 

In recognition of this flattery, they received the backing 
and support which wealth is able to give, and to neutralize 
the feelings of meanness which the consciousness of subser- 
viency produces in the soul of a man, who is not born a serf, 
they assumed lofty and insolent airs towards the poor. 

It is true, by far the greater portion of their revenues 
came from the rank and file, yet, as the amount contributed 
by each was but small, no thanks were expected, and none 
given by the Pharisees. 

This line of policy, which had been at work for years, 
produced a disaffected class. The members thereof felt 
that they had no one to take an interest in their welfare. 



ALETHAURION. 



165 



Hence, they were prepared to enlist under the banner of 
any one who had the force of character necessary to be a 
leader. 

There are certain rights, to the loss of which men will 
become reconciled for a while, the re-acquisition of which 
they will rarely, if ever, abandon in hope. When those 
whose duty it is to lead and direct popular aspirations act 
as mill-dams, the current will finally either pass over them 
all together, or seek some new channel. 

The Saviour was the beau-ideal with the class of Jews 
most despised by the Pharisees. His teachings pleased the 
people, and they recognized in him what they had sought 
for in vain among the rulers of the synagogue — a leader 
worthy of their respect. 

They followed him in crowds, and it was only by an 
aberration, altogether human, seconded by the cunning of 
His enemies, that they were goaded on to call for his cruci- 
fixion. 

He upraided the rich because of their pride, and declared 
t that sooner would a camel pass through the eye of a needle, 
than one of them should enter the kingdom of heaven. The 
poor appeared to have been his special favorites, and to 
them he willingly preached his gospel. 

The Apostles also, following in his footsteps, sought to 
elevate the masses ; and it so happened that the greater 
number of those who lent them a willing ear were from the 
more humble walks of life. 

There were, however, many, who though possessed of 
wealth, were yet clean of heart, and these, too, became 
associated with the faithful. 

Now, as tyranny and bitterness of spirit were elements 
that entered largely into the composition of the Pharisees, 
and as they exercised an extensive patronage, it happened 
that many, after having embraced Christianity, lost posi- 
tions from which they had gained a meager yet sufficient 
livelihood. 



166 



ALETHAURION. 



Such a state of affairs brought about the necessity of 
providing for these indigent members. But the zeal and 
true Christian charity of those possessed of wealth soon 
settled the difficulty. 

They sold their lands and whatever else they had, and 
having returned, laid the proceeds at the feet of the Apos- 
tles, to be used for the benefit of the entire community. 

Now there are a few sects in this State that have no rule 
of faith to direct their belief and practice but the " Bible, 
and the Bible alone." We should very much like to know 
why these do not carry into execution a custom so evidently 
apostolic in its origin. Why does not Deacon Bullfrog 
sell his thousand acres of land and divide with Brother 
Bareboxes ? « « Aye , there' s the rub . ' ' 

Taking the New Testament, without an infallible judge 
to interpret its sense and meaning, can the sects show that 
a community of goods is not one of the essentials of Chris- 
tianity? We think not. 

Besides the zeal of the first Christians, there was another 
cause that contributed to the effect spoken of. There was a 
somewhat vague and undefined belief in the minds of many, 
that the end of the world was then near at hand. Hence 
there may have been a little of the human commingled with 
what otherwise might be regarded as a heroic act. Under 
the impression that all things would soon be reduced to 
nonentity, it probably was not more difficult to resign the 
goods of this world, than it would have been to a Georgia 
planter, towards the close of the war, to have sold his cot- 
ton pickers at half price. . 

This idea of the world's coming to an end, has, more than 
once, exercised a marked influence over the actions of men. 
It is related by some writers of the eleventh century, that 
towards the close of the preceding one, many gave up the 
active pursuits of life for the seclusion of the monasteries. 

The thousand years spoken of in the book of Revelation, 
were evidently about to expire, and a little eloquence, 



ALETHAURION. 



167 



coupled with some leaning after pelf, was sufficient to con- 
vince the imaginative and timorous that themselves and what 
they possessed would be safer within the sacred enclosure of 
a monastery. 

Even in our day there is not wanting a race of croakers, 
who speak as confidently on the proximity of the great catas- 
trophe, as if specially sent of God to announce the fact to 
men. Not long ago, in a city " Out West," the members 
of a sect, known as the Second-Adventists, remained all 
night in one of their conventicles to receive the Saviour, 
who, according to a prophet, powerful in word and deed 
among them, was to make his second appearance that very 
night, at exactly nineteen minutes past two a. m. It was in 
the month of August ; and as there were no earthquakes nor 
roarings of the sea nor flashes of lightning, instead of with- 
ering away through fear and expectation, the party went 
into a nap, each on his own responsibility. Nor did they 
awake until morning put her rosy fingers through the chinks 
in the walls of the building wherein they slept. 

That sow that meant to get into the clover-field by creep- 
ing through a hollow log, and landed in the mule-lot, on ac- 
count of the log being crooked, was not more surprised at 
her mistake than were our friends at theirs when morning 
dawned. 

But it is not alone fanatical heretics that indulge in such 
speculations ; their follies we may attribute to the nature of 
the beast, and pass on. 

When, however, a Catholic author steps out of the ranks, 
and gets, like Saul, mixed up with the prophets, the case 
assumes a different complexion. 

Not many weeks ago we read a book called " The Chris- 
tian Trumpet," the author of which was either too modest 
or too wise to favor us with his name. We found it there 
stated, with the utmost gravity, that Antichrist is already 
born, and at this present writing, must be quite a likely lad. 
Some old woman over in Italy is said to have got a peep at 



168 



ALETHAURION. 



Mm. But, by what means she identified the monster, is not 
stated. The author further remarks, that many of us 
now living, will, ere we die, see things not pleasant to 
look at. 

Such assertions can come only from a disordered brain, 
and they strongly remind us of the presumption of that old 
English woman, who in a fit of piety, attempted to fly like 
an eagle from a second story window, but landed head fore- 
most in a pile of ashes — spraining both ankles by the con- 
cussion. She has since come to the conclusion that flying 
is either one of the lost arts, or that the Church of England 
is not of a character to encourage such exercise. 

Ananias and Saphira were also under the impression that 
the world would soon have come to an end ; but they did 
not feel quite as sure of it as the English hag did of her ca- 
pacity to navigate in air. Hence, they did not like to risk 
too much on the event. 

Having sold their possession Ananias brought a part of 
the proceeds to Peter, and gave the rest to Saphira, to 
keep. Peter knew, by divine relation, the agreement they 
had made, and as an example to all future generations, he 
slew them for lying to the Holy Ghost. 

Our next will embrace the public acts of St. Peter, from 
the death of Saphira to the raising of Tabitha to life. 



CHAPTEE XXXVII. 

i 

TABITHA. 

In our last we saw how Ananias and Saphira were 
snuffed out by St. Peter for having lied to the Holy Spirit. 
Their' s was a case of simple pusillanimity. They wished 
the cause success, but on account of the littleness of their 
souls, they were afraid to risk what they had in the move- 
ment. 



ALETHAUEION. 



169 



The Fathers of the Church are of opinion, that the trans- 
gression did not amount to more than a venial sin, at most. 
Hence, having come to an untimely end here, we may pre- 
sume that, with a little scorching for good measure sake in 
the other world, both escaped that eternal punishment due 
only to mortal sin. Heretics, of course, will not agree with 
us in this lenient interpretation. As they do not admit the 
existence of a Purgatory, they must hold that the soul of 
Ananias sped on its way, like a bomb from a Krupp gun, to 
the bosom of Beelzebub. 

But let us try to find out a reason why the hand of the 
Lord was laid so heavily on these two unfortunate people. 
Judas betrayed the Saviour, and yet was allowed to live 
until he put an end to his own wretched life with a rope. 
Annas and Caiphas suborned false witnesses against the 
Just One, and their envy was not quenched in gore. The 
city of Jerusalem failed to rejoice in the day of its visita- 
tion, yet many years had passed ere the Eoman soldier 
wreathed its temple with flames. Why were Ananias and 
Saphira struck down at once, when others, far more guilty, 
w T ere allowed to escape ? 

The providence of God in the government of this world, 
is certainly a great mystery. But, may^we not say that He 
often strikes the less guilty in the eyes of men, and then 
saves them before the angels, in order to warn the more 
hardened that they may repent and have life ? 

Ananias and Saphira have been regarded by spiritual 
writers as types of those who conceal their mortal sins in 
confession. By telling a lie to the Holy Ghost, the latter 
also bring upon themselves a spiritual death, which is that 
of the soul. 

Not long after the events related above, news came to the 
Apostles in Jerusalem, that many of the inhabitants of Sa- 
maria had, through the preaching of Philip the deacon, em- 
braced Christianity, and Peter and John were sent by the 



170 



ALETHAURION . 



other Apostles to lay hands upon, that is to confirm, those 
whom Philip had baptized. 

Those who deny that St. Peter received from the Saviour 
a jurisdiction over the entire Church, make capital of the 
fact, stated in chapter viii, 14, Acts, viz : that the Apostles 
sent Peter and John. He who has the right to send an- 
other on an errand of any kind, say they, is superior in 
authority to the one sent. The Apostles sent Peter and 
John, therefore, etc. 

We will endeavor to knock the logic out of the foregoing 
syllogism, when we come to speak of the primacy of Peter. 
Let it suffice for the present, to have called attention to the 
fact. The next glimpse we get at the Prince of the Apos- 
tles, through the earliest records on these subjects, repre- 
sents him to us at Lydda, in the house of one Eneas, whom 
he raised, miraculously, from a bed to which he had been 
confined for eight years with the palsy. 

Just here while speaking of these miracles performed by 
the Apostles, we may ask ourselves the question, whether 
the power of working them was given in such a manner that 
it could be exercised at any time, and under all circum- 
stances ; or was there a special illumination required for 
each particular case. No doubt a great deal may be said on 
one side and on the other of this question. 

The very fact that their shadows in passing were known 
to Jiave cured the infirm, would seem to indicate the pres- 
ence of a power of that kind permanently abiding with 
them. Such also appears to have been the belief of the 
faithful who lived in the days of the Apostles. They ap- 
pealed to them for relief from their infirmities, with what 
appears to have been an entire and perfect confidence. 

This is very strikingly illustrated by the following cir- 
cumstances : At Joppe, a town of considerable size, situated 
on the seacoast of Palestine, there lived, in the days of the 
Apostles, a certain woman, a believer, named Tabitha* 



ALETHAURION. 



171 



This woman was wealthy and she freely expended no incon- 
siderable portion of her revenues in works of charity. She 
did not, however, go around like some of our modern Dor- 
cases, seeking audiences of St. Peter, and then get some 
slippery Dick to publish abroad the fact, to let the world 
know how important she was. The praises of Tabitha were 
principally in the mouths of the widows and orphans whom 
she had clothed and supported. 

The poor did not find out from the Apostles what a good 
woman she was, because in doing charity she sought only 
the glory of God, and carefully avoided all worldly noto- 
riety. But even the just and holy must, after a time, go the 
way of all flesh. Tabitha, or Dorcas as she was sometimes 
called, having ran her godly race, was numbered with the 
dead. 

A crowd of weeping friends lingered at her bedside ; one 
closed her sightless eyes, another prayed for her eternal re- 
pose, a third laid the cross upon her breast. Sadness had 
taken possession of all, until some one announced that 
Peter was in Lydda, and that he had cured Eneas of the 
palsy. 

A messenger was at once dispatched, with the request 
that he would come to Joppe. On his arrival many poor 
and helpless widows brought to him the coats and garments 
which Dorcas had made them, with the request, that he 
would again raise her to life. 

He yielded to their entreaties, and having ordered all to 
retire from the room, knelt down and prayed that God, for 
His own greater glory and for the exaltation of His Son's 
name, would send back the spirit to repossess its earthly 
casket. His prayer was answered and Tabitha restored to 
weeping friends, who now for joy wept all the more. 

The circumstance of Peter's requesting the others to 
withdraw, and of his praying before proceeding to work the 
miracle, may tend to make us believe that even the Apostles 
did not feel within themselves an abiding power to perform 



172 



ALETHAURION. 



miracles ; but that in each particular case they awaited a 
special permission and inspiration of the Holy Ghost. 

Yet, of one thing we are quite certain, that there is no 
case on record where an Apostle willed to do a miraculous 
work without having had his wish granted. ''Whatever 
you shall ask the Father in my name, He will give it to you." 
John xv, 16. 

The conversion of Cornelius will be our next subject. 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



CORNELIUS. 

There are few things so flattering to man's pride as 
dominion over others. It pleases corrupt human nature 
to have it to say to one's self, I am above such and such 
persons ; and no matter what they may do that is good or 
glorious, still the law recognizes me as their superior in 
social life, or at least their equal. Such reflections have, 
no doubt upheld the courage of many a princely dunce ; 
may be, lessened his envy. 

The tenacity with which the slave-holder in the South 
clung to Sambo is evidence enough of the truth we have 
laid down. It was not so much because the black was 
valuable as a farm hand that he was prized ; no, it was 
because it flattered his master's pride to see creatures like 
himself tremble when he whistled. The average revival 
nigger, before the war, stole more in bacon and chickens 
than his wasres now would suffice to buy. 

We speak here of course of those blacks who are not in 
Congress, nor appointed to agencies by the Government. 

The persistency with which men seek authority over 
others, and the tenacity with which they hold on to it, is 
often mysterious, sometimes ridiculous. 

There lives in the town of , in this State, a dry goods 



ALETKAUBION. 



173 



merchant, who, on a certain day during the past summer, 
desired to have cut, for cooking stove purposes, a few 
cords of wood that lay in the alley behind his residence. 
He procured the services of an African gentleman of the 
purest blood, with large white eyes, and lips that might 
lead the casual observer to suspect that he had passed the 
previous night in a bee-hive. Sam agreed to cut and split 
the wood for a certain consideration, part in money, and 
the rest in calico for his w T ife, Dinah. 

Now there lived in that same town, at the time we are 
speaking of, a good, industrious Englishman, who went by 
the name of John Bull. Bull was a jack of all trades, 
and did choring around hotels, saloons and barber shops, 
to the great pleasure and entire satisfaction of his employ- 
ers. John was, in fact, a reliable draughthorse, and had 
none of that skittishness and uncertainty peculiar to the 
racer, about him. He came across the black, and made a 
trade, by which Sam was to give him twenty-five cents more 
for cutting the wood than he had himself agreed to do it 
for. 

Cliff Sutheeland, another African, overheard the 
trade, and reproached Sam with being such a fool. Sam 
thought he had done a wise thin^ nevertheless. "You 
nappy-headed nigger," said he to Cliff, "you don't know 
nothin' ; ain't it worth more'n a quarter to sit in the shade 
and boss a white man." 

This principle, expressed by the darkey in such forcible 
terms, has been taken advantage of by the witty and the 
wise of every age. 

Romulus, the founder of Rome, with that intuitive know- 
ledge of human nature peculiar to all great men, was not 
slow in turning it to account. When the gang of robbers, 
of which he was chief, had, to some extent, laid aside their 
predatory habits and began a more settled mode of life, in 
order to strengthen his own authority, and give greater 



174 



ALETEAURION. 



stability to his government, he divided the people into two 
distiuct classes. 

A difficulty met him at the very threshold, shortly after 
having conceived this idea. 

As all taken together were nothing but a lot of thieves 
and cut -throats, he found it not an easy task to discover 
where to draw the line of demarkation. His genius, how- 
ever was equal to the occasion ; and he chose out the biggest 
rascals and most rapacious scoundrels, and called them 
patricians. Only those who were thought incapable of 
giving annoyance were left among the plebians. 

Romulus thought of governing the State through the 
patricians or privileged class, and in this he succeeded well 
for a time ; but, in the end, it proved detrimental to the 
peace and happiness of the republic. He had vast power 
of organization, and, if his moderation had been on a par 
with his general ability, he would not have come to a violent 
death. 

But we are drifting from our subject ; let us, therefore, 
return once more. 

Among those selected to be patricians there was one 
family, or gens, as it is called in the Latin language, that 
from the very beginning, appeared to have been above most, 
if not all, others. It was the Cornelian gens. To write its 
history would be the same as to go over again the palmiest 
days of the Roman republic. It was a member of this 
celebrated family that set limits to the pretensions of Car- 
thage, and defeated Hannibal, her best and bravest 
general, on the plains of Zama. But, at the time of which 
we are now speaking, a great deal of the ancient glory of 
the Cornelian gens had departed. Many who bore that 
proud name were willing to accept the position of even 
centurion in the Roman armies. The higher offices were, 
as a matter of course, filled by the members of the Julian 
family, and by their friends or favorites. 

Cornelius, the subject of our present paper, gladly left 



ALETHAUEION. 



175 



the capital, where all was vice and venality, to take com- 
mand of one of the Roman garrisons in Palestine. He was 
one of the gens Cornelia, which fact was, at this time, 
rather prejudicial than otherwise to his advancement. But 
he sought not worldly renown. 

After a residence of some years in Palestine, he gained a 
knowledge of the true God, whose will he greatly desired 
to know more perfectly, in order that he might worship Him 
in spirit and in truth. His prayers were at length heard 
and his good deeds rewarded. As he sat in his house, there 
appeared to him one afternoon at three o'clock, an angel of 
the Lord, who bade him send for one Simon Peter, who 
lived in Joppe, and that from him he should learn what to 
do in order to be saved. 

Peter, in the meantime, had been admonished by the 
vision of clean and unclean beasts, that the Gentiles were 
made co-partners with the Jews in the redemption purchased 
by the Saviour, and consequently might be received into 
the Church. 

In this conversion of Cornelius, we have an answer 
given to a question that is sometimes asked by the unrea- 
soning and unreflecting, viz : 

What is the use for Protestants to do any good works in 
this life ? They will all be lost any how, for they have not 
faith, without which it is impossible to please God. 

We may reply : True, if they remain in heresy they will 
be lost, but by their good works God may be moved to 
open their eyes to their errors, and bring them, in His 
mercy, to the knowledge of the entire truth, as He did 
Cornelius, who was probably not nearly so well instructed 
in regard to the things of the next world as the majority of 
heretics appear to be. 

Hence, though heretics should obstinately refuse to em- 
brace the truth when presented to them, it is still right and 
proper to exhort them to the practice of good works. And 
many, no doubt, of those who yearly enter the true fold 



176 



ALETHAURIOX. 



are brought around more on account of some good deeds 
they have performed than by the eloquence or logic of those 
who preach to them . 

In our next we will go as far as St. Peter's journey to 
the City of the Seven Hills. 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 



HEROD. 

In our last we spoke of the conversion of Cornelius. 
He was the first of the Gentiles who had the happiness of 
being received into the true Church. With all the preju- 
dices of early training resting on his shoulders, he had never- 
theless, the courage and the manhood to throw aside the 
vain trumpery of paganism and embrace the truth when pre- 
sented to him. 

Corxelius paved the way to his conversion by a good life. 
And it is highly probable that he was the friend of God, 
that is, free from mortal sin, even before he had seen Peter. 
His conversion to the true faith appears to have been easily 
brought about. Though, no doubt, a man of considerable 
learning for those times, with a just appreciation of the 
ancient glory of his ancestors, and of his own standing in 
society, yet we do not read that he had any considerable dis- 
cussion with Peter, on the relative merits of Paganism and 
Christianity. An heretical village cobbler would give an 
archbishop more trouble at the present day, to convince him 
of the truth of the Catholic religion, than Corxelius gave 
Peter. 

When we consider the fact, that at the time of which we 
are speaking, the Romans had, by their valor in war and 
wisdom in peace, become masters of the whole world, or at 
least of all that was worth possessing of it, we can hardly 
over-rate the nobility of Corxelius' character. For, by 



ALETHAURION. 



177 



this one act, he cut himself off from past and glorious tra- 
ditions, and from all hope of future promotion. 

The Eomans despised the Jews, more probably than they 
did any of the nations that had ever succumbed to their arms. 
And as the distinction between the early followers of the 
Saviour and the Jews was not very clearly defined, the fact 
of a man of patrician rank becoming a Christian was tanta- 
mount to a voluntary degradation of himself in the eyes of 
his countrymen. But what Cornelius lost in the estima- 
tion of his cotemporaries has been abundantly restored by 
the common consent of the good and wise for the past 
eighteen centuries. 

What a contrast have we not presented to our eyes, be- 
tween his life and heroism, and that of the cowardly sneak 
and lackey, whose name stands at the head of this chapter. 
Herod was in every way the opposite of Cornelius. Base 
of instinct, and a swine in gluttony, his elevation to power, 
if not a freak of fortune, may be taken as an evidence of 
political corruption. He was neither a Roman nor a Jew, 
but he had the arrogance of the one and the sordid avarice 
and bitterness of the other, He had, besides, a species of 
low vulpine cunning, which those flatterers that he kept 
about him, called genius, and in which he did himself take 
great delight. 

The fact that God sometimes permits wretches, like 
Herod, to appear in His name here on earth, and exercise 
power which is from Him, may have a tendency to make 
those that have not the faith, disbelievers in a direct pro- 
vidence. Bad or incompetent rulers will, no doubt, have a 
meaning in our eyes, when, in another life they are opened 
more fully, aud are permitted to see more clearly the de- 
signs of God here below ; but at present it would be a vain 
task, and full of risk to attempt to state, in express terms, 
the whys and wherefores of their being. 

Whether it is the wish of the Supreme Being that men 
should endure a worthless ruler, is also a question that 



178 



ALETHAUEION. 



might challenge inspection. When the Tarquins of Rome 
proved themselves unfit for their position, the people arose 
and drove them out, and posterity has regarded this act as 
not only justifiable, but even glorious. When Louis XYI 
and the nobility of France, had carried their empty pride 
and conceit to such an extent that the peasantry were, in 
some cases, not allowed to manure their lands lest it might 
interfere with the flavor of the quails and partridges, on 
which the nobility feasted, they experienced a fall : and 
others more worthy to rule took their places. 

We have no hesitancy in saying, that when a ruler has 
clearly demonstrated his incompetence, it is not only a 
privilege, but may sometimes become even a duty, that the 
people over whom he rules should require his abdication. 

The divine right of a king, or of anyone else, to do wrong, 
is very justly regarded as a silly assumption : and that for- 
bearance that stands, with folded arms, while a tyrant or 
a fool is making havoc with what men do, and ought to 
regard as dear in this world, may be esteemed as one of the 
virtues of a slave. When a king, like the present ruler of. 
Italy, proves himself to be first a robber, and second, the 
friend and protector of error in some of its most malignant 
forms, we do not esteem it a paradox to say, that the good 
and true among his subjects could lawfully unite, and bring 
to bear upon him a moral pressure that would force him to 
resign a throne that he has disgraced. But, as it has been 
in the past, so it is likely to be in the future — lazy pol- 
troons will still put off until the day of judgment the 
settlement of grievances that ought to be choked on this 
side of the tomb. 

The facts of history, which are the footprints of the 
Almighty, show that God does not often come, in a direct 
manner, to the aid of those who receive upon their necks, 
without a struggle, the yoke of injustice. If the millions 
of India had arisen years ago, and had driven Warren, 
Hastings, Clive, and their followers into the sea, or had 



ALETHAURION. 



179 



smothered them in the Ganges, they would not have had to 
witness the disgusting sight of seeing their women dragged 
by the hair of their heads through the streets of Calcutta, 
by the red-faced and thick-necked minions of the nation of 
shop-keepers. But, may be wicked rulers are given to 
worthless people ; and it is only on this hypothesis that we 
can explain the fact that our Herod, the lineal descendant 
of his grandfather, who killed all the children in Bethle- 
hem, got astride of a throne. 

He was, in a manner, worthy of the degenerate race of 
Jews that lived in his day. Having had in himself nothing 
magnanimous, nor capable of winning the respect of the 
people, he sought their forbearance by making war on the 
Apostles, and other early followers of the Saviour. 

There appears, under certain circumstances, to be a kind 
of sympathy between thieves, that we cannot easily explain, 
but it is a fact nevertheless. Herod and the Pharisees got 
as thick as pick-pockets, and apparently, as sincere in their 
friendship as two retired merchants, who had both been 
recognized college dunces in their youth. Herod's first 
act, by which he hoped to please the Pharisees, was the 
murder of James the Apostle, and seeing that he had suc- 
ceeded well, he next arrested Peter and cast him into 
prison, intending, when the proper time came, to treat him 
as he had James. But Peter's day had not come ; he had 
yet great labors to perform, great enemies to subdue ; he 
had yet to visit that mighty city which had sent its conquer- 
ing legions to the ends of the earth, and preach the name 
of Jesus of Nazareth where the capitol raised its proud 
head, crowned with the laurels of centuries. 

In our next we will accompany him to the city of the 
Csesars. 



180 



ALETHAURION „ 



CHAPTER XL, 



THE TRIUMPHANT ENTRY OF THE WORD INTO BABYLON. 

When, in 1870, Generals Cadorna, Bixo, and other small 
heroes of young Italy led a portion of Victor Emanuel's 
army through the breach at Porta Pia, they brought with 
them, or there followed soon after, a number of those who 
had been exiled for their wickedness by the government of 
Pius IX. Along with these came also many others, who 
regarded Rome, under the Pope, as not a safe place to ped- 
dle around their infidel nonsense, or make a display of their 
immorality. 

Among the latter was that incorrigible apostate, the noto- 
rious Father Gavazzi. He also came through the breach 
at Porta Pia, but in a manner altogether novel and peculiar. 
He lead over the ruins with a halter at a slow pace, a huge, 
ungainly jack, laden with bibles in panniers, one on each 
side. 

Some heretical ministers followed the donkey on foot 
singing psalms. At the interludes they turned up the 
whites of their eyes and spoke of this as the triumphal entry 
of the Word into Babylon. A large concourse of half 
grown boys and some roughs brought up the rear. The 
children had tin pans which they beat with dexterity and 
the roughs had small bugles which they sounded at inter- 
vals. 

As soon as this noisy crew had passed within the gates of 
the city, the police, as a matter of course, dispersed the 
rabble. They threatened the children with stripes and the 
jail and took their bugles away from some of the others, 
whose ears they boxed as mementoes of the occasion. 

Gavazzi, the donkey and the preachers were allowed to 



ALETHAURION 



181 



continue their march without further molestation, by way 
of Monte Cavallo, as far as the Piazza Navona. 

Piazza Navona is the largest market place in the city and 
enjoys a reputation for chaste and temperate language, sim- 
ilar to that of Billingsgate, in London. Here the donkey 
bucked his panniers and began to grow obstinate. One 
fishmonger accused another of having poked the animals in 
the ribs as he passed by the stall. 

The bibles were picked up and distributed gratuituously 
to all who showed the least anxiety to receive them. By 
far the greater part was taken immediately, or afterwards 
bought up from children, for a copper or two, by those who 
sold maccaroni, ciambelle, or soap in small quantities. 

We may observe here, in passing, that the Romans have 
a great respect for the scriptures ; but they do not, any 
more than we, regard it as a desecration to turn to profane 
uses, those corrupt versions of the bible, which heretics 
scatter around, in order to deceive the unwary. A garbled 
copy of the scriptures, such as heretics use, is not the word 
of God. 

Gavazzi, seeing that he had failed in creating, by his 
bible demonstration, even a respectable ripple on the placid 
surface of Roman society, looked around for some new 
source of excitement. He could not take up the doctrine 
of indulgences, for Luther had exhausted the subject ; and 
the world had become as tired of his mouthings as an old 
circus man of the extravagant pranks and stale jokes of the 
clown. 

The doctrine of the temporal power of the Popes was not 
in the programme just then, for those in authority, whom 
Gavazzi greatly respected, wished for no discussion on the 
subject. He shied around for a time, waiting for some- 
thing to turn up. Finally a bright idea presented itself. 
" I will deny," said he, " that St. Peter was ever in Rome 
and that will arouse them if anything under the moon is 
capable of doing it." 



182 



ALETHAURION. 



The next day, in some of the most frequented places in 
the city, there was to be found a challenge, in large letters, 
to the cardinals, bishops and priests, of the cit}' of Rome. 
It was to the effect that, Gavazzi was ready to discuss pub- 
licly, with any one of the aforesaid, the historical question 
as to whether the Apostle Peter was ever in the city of 
Eome or not. Our Holy Father, Pius IX, soon after the 
discussion, refuted, by one sentence, the assumptions of 
Gavazzi, more effectively than his opponents had done with 
all their weight of learning. ' < I am," said Pius IX, " the 
successor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles." His pre- 
decessors, for eighteen centuries, past, had made the same 
declaration ; and the writer of this confesses that, never 
before, did the importance of asserting a great truth strike 
him with such force, 

As our efforts, in these papers, are for the benefit of the 
rank and file, it may not be out of place to state wherein 
consists the importance of this question. The coming of 
Peter to Rome, and his death there, as bishop of the city, 
are what theologians call dogmatic facts; that is, they are 
not simple historical facts, such as that Brutus killed Cjesar, 
Napoleon died in exile, or that Graxt owned a pair of bull- 
dogs. A dogmatic fact, is one so intimately connected with 
a doctrine of the Church, that, if one should succeed in prov- 
ing the assumed fact untrue, the doctrine or doctrines 
founded on it would also become untenable. 

Now, the Pope of Rome claims a primacy, not only of 
honor but also of jurisdiction, in matters appertaining to 
faith and morals, over the entire Church. That is, he as- 
sumes the right to make laws for the government, in spirit- 
ual matters, of all baptized persons throughout the whole 
world. This he claims on the ground that he, as bishop of 
Rome, is the successor of Peter, to whom our Saviour 
gave the powers alluded to, to be used by him, and by his 
successors in office, for all time. 

Now it is evident, that, if Peter never came to Rome 



ALE THAUR ION 



183 



Pius IX would have no more right to call himself Peter's 
successor than the King of the Cannibal Isles, to pretend 
that he is the successor of General Washington, first Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

Consequently with the disproval of the fact, all the 
claims and pretensions of the Pope of Rome would vanish, 
at once, into the air. It would be like breaking the main pipe 
just at the water-works ; like a Turkish bath to a collier ; or 
a swim in the surf at Long Branch to a white-washed 
African. 

The reader may now see more clearly what Gavazzi was 
aiming at. In order to add greater importance to the dis- 
cussion, he procured the services of two straggling preachers, 
named Sciarelli and Cipolla. 

Gavazzi knew, as a matter of course, from the start, that 
he had no chance of succeeding ; especially in a city like 
Rome, where there are men who have explored every nook 
and corner of history and theology. But, he thought it im- 
probable that any one would even take the pains to demol- 
ish him. Then he could boast that he had challenged Rome, 
and Rome was afraid to pick up the gauntlets. In case of 
acceptance, he hoped by swagger and effrontery, to save 
appearances, in one or two speeches, and then wriggle out 
of the difficulty. 

In our next we will see more about the interesting: 
scrimmage. • 



CHAPTER XLI. 



THE SCRODIAGE. 

As soon as the fact had become generally known that 
Gavazzi had challenged the clergy of Rome to dispute on the 
subject of the coming of Peter to the city, the number of 
those who showed a willingness to buckle on the sword was 
simply immense. 



184 



ALETHAURIOX. 



These were, however, principally from the younger por- 
tion of the clergy ; each of whom, no doubt, thought that 
this would be an easy way of gamins: an honorable promi- 
nence among his cotemporaries. There was an evident itch- 
ing among the young folks to knock the horns off an old 
stag like Gavazzi. 

But there was another question also to be taken in con- 
sideration. Would it be the proper thing to give such a 
man the honor of even demolishing him, under the circum- 
stances. Cardinal Axtoxelli and others, distinguished no 
less for learning than piety, were of the opinion that Gavazzi 
should be treated with silent contempt. 

All that he could say on the subject had been answered 
dozens of times already ; and Gavazzi knew it. Hence, it 
appeared to some, that it would be giving him 'undue promi- 
nence to take any notice whatever of him. 

On the other hand, as above stated, there were not a few, 
of the more youthful of the clergy, who were actually 
spoiling for a clip at the old buck. They looked on it as 
a piece of degeneracy, to let a donkey beard the lion in his 
den, without leaving him, for future reference, some me- 
mento of his foolhardiness. 

Thus a pressure was brought to bear on the Holy Father, 
by which he consented to let the dispute take place. 

Father Fabiaxi, a distinguished Roman priest, with two 
others, represented the Catholic side : and Gavazzi, with 
his brace of preachers, stood up for the opposition : Scia- 
relli opened the discussion, with a series of what logicians 
call negative arguments. That is he attempted to show 
various data that Peter could not have been in Rome at the 
time Catholics maintain he was. 

These arguments were all taken, substantially at least, 
from a work published at Turin, in the year 1861, by an 
anonymous author — no doubt an apostate, or one on the 
road to apostacy. Shortly after the work spoken of, had 
seen the light, it was taken up page by page and refuted in 



ALETHAURION. 



185 



a most learned and satisfactory manner, by the celebrated 
Jesuit theologian, Father Perroxe. 

Hence Sciarelli, who had read both the works and its 
refutation, knew very well from the start, how the discus- 
sion was going to end. 

Fabiaxi replied to the heretic, by bringing to bear on him 
some facts of history, that were unanswerable : and finished 
his discourse by brushing away, as if they had been cobwebs, 
those little chronological difficulties that constituted his 
stock and trade. 

The whole affair might remind one of two amateur chess- 
players, going through again, for amusement sake, one of 
Morphias celebrated continental games ; where each move 
and reply are already known to both players ; because writ- 
ten on the book before them. 

The discussion ended where it had begun. There was no 
additional light thrown on the subject. The question, in 
fact, is one about which there can really, among men of 
learning, be no dispute at the present day. It has long 
since beeu settled for good. 

However, for the instruction or amusement of the reader, 
we propose to go over it again ; and give the reasons, taken 
from sacred and profane history, which go to show that 
Peter not only came to Rome, but that he died there, as 
bishop of the city. 

The first man who ever denied it was Marsilius Menan- 
drinus, a native of Padua, in Italy. He lived in the begin- 
ning of the fourteenth century ; and was condemned, for 
this and other errors, by Pope John XII, in the year 1327. 

About the same time Johx Jaxduxus, also an Italian, and 
a native of Perugia, fell into the same errors, and was like- 
wise condemned. 

These two men were politicians rather than theologians, 
and more attached to the philosophy of Aristotle than to 
the teachings of the Saviour. It was not out of love for 
truth they wrote, but rather with the view of gaining favor 



186 



ALETHAURION. 



with Louis, the Duke of Bavaria, who was, at the time* 
head of a schism and at war with the Pope. From the death 
of these two lights to the time of Luther, there was no 
other person found reckless enough to deny this truth. 

From the sixteenth to the eighteenth century many 
Protestant writers labored strenuously to prove Peter was 
neveT in Rome. The most celebrated of these was Fred- 
erick Spaxler, a German, who showed considerable 
research in a dissertation, entitled, " About rashly believing 
that the Apostle Peter came to Rome." 

Towards the beginning of the eighteenth century, the 
face of things became entirely changed. Protestant authors. 
of any name, not only ceased to contend against the truth, 
but willingly confessed that it was useless to impugn it. 
Among those who have made the foregoing: admission, we 
may mention Pearson, in his book on the succession of 
Roman Pontiffs, chap. 6 ; William Cave, George Vale- 
sius, Hist, of the Church, first century ; Samuel Basxage, 
Ecclesiastical Annals, year 64. Let it suffice to give from, 
these heretical authors a single quotation, which is from 
the one last mentioned. 

Basxage says : ''Neither has there ever been a tradition 
supported by a greater number of witnesses than that Peter 
came to Rome ; the fact cannot be denied without tearing 
up the very foundations of history." 

We do not, of course, take at par, what heretics have to 
say on questions of history and theology ; we know how 
their brilliant imaginations run far ahead of the order of 
events, and how they are disposed to mistake future contin- 
gents for past facts. All these things are well known to 
us. 

But when one of their number, like Basxage, shows 
some research, we may be permitted to give what little he 
has .grubbed up, by way of confirming what we already 
know from orthodox writers. 



ALETHAURION. 



187 



In our next we will take up and examine the earliest 
records on this interesting subject. 



CHAPTER XLII. 



FOSSILS. 

After having spoken in the last chapter of how the 
apostate Gavazzi was picked off his high trotting horse, in 
the passage at arms between him and Father Fabiani, we 
deem it expedient before descending into the pits of ancient 
history and tradition, to make a few observations on what 
has already been said. 

First of all, let it be observed that fully thirteen centuries 
had passed into the ocean of years, before any one thought 
of questioning the fact that Peter came to Rome, and was 
crucified there. During all that time, the Popes, one after 
another, had declared themselves his successors, and Chris- 
tendom nodded the head in acknowledment of the fact. 

Is it likely that such a declaration would have passed 
unchallenged for so many ages, if it had not had upon its 
forehead the mark of truth? Is it conceivable that the 
Greeks and other Oriental schismatics would have passed 
by unnoticed, a point in theology that would have served 
their purpose to a nicety ? 

Yet, though the Greek schismatics have had among them 
such men as Photius, Michael Cerularius, and others, 
distinguished no less for their hatred of Rome than for 
their general depravity, still the fact stands out in bold 
relief, that not one of them ever thought of opposing the 
Pope, on the plea that he had usurped the title of the 
"successor of the Prince of the Apostles." • 

It is a circumstance worthy of consideration that Marsi- 
lius Paduanus and John Jandunus, who were the first to 
deny that Peter came to Rome, were both tainted with- 



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schism. Moreover, all they have to say on the subject when 
taken apart and examined critically, does not appear to have 
much solidity in it. Neither Marsilius nor John brought 
forward any public document nor other monuments from 
antiquity, in support of their views. Hence we may treat 
them as we do Gavazzi and others of his ilk, at the present 
day. 

Possession is nine points in law ; and the Roman Church 
is to-day, and has been for eighteen centuries, in possession 
of the fact that St. Peter was the first bishop of the city. 
Whoever should desire to invalidate her claims must brinsr 
forward reasons that will bear to be examined by sun-light. 
This has never been done, and until some new and hitherto 
unheard of documents are discovered, it cannot be. As 
well might one attempt to pulverize the rock of Gibraltar, 
by pitching nutmegs at it, as try to disprove, in the light of 
such historical evidence to the contrary, that St. Peter came 
to Rome. But let us begin with our positive proofs taken 
from traditions and from authentic history. Those of our 
readers who have visited the Eternal City may remember to 
have seen the Church of St. Paul, outside the walls, on the 
Ostian Way. 

After having admired the altar, built of alabaster, mal- 
achite and other rare stones, as also the forest of marble 
column's that so much attract the eye of the tourist, they 
may remember to have noticed about half way between the 
floor and ceiling, a number of portraits, all in mosaic. 

The first of these has under it the inscription St. Petrus, 
and the last, Pius IX. These are, in fact, the portraits of 
all the Roman Pontiffs from St. Peter to Pius IX. 
Whether good ones or not, does not interfere with our pres- 
ent argument. The writer could judge of the correctness 
of one only, and he feels justified in saying that it is cer- 
tainly capital. 

Now, this series of portraits we know, as a matter of au- 
* thentic history, was begun during the pontificate of Pope 



ALETHAURION. 



189 



Leo I, surnamed the Great, who was born in Rome about 
the year 390, and died in the same city, April 11, 461. 

Here we have, at once, a pretty respectable antiquity es- 
tablished for the belief that Peter came to Rome. We are 
not ignorant of the fact, however, that a few days before 
the death of Pope Pius VII, which happened in the year 
1823, the above named church was burned to the ground, in 
consequence of the carelessness of some workmen employed 
in repairing its roof ; yet we know also that the portraits 
were again restored, as nearly as possible, as they had been 
before the conflagration. 

Here then we have, in these portraits alone, an historical 
monument that fixes and makes certain the fact that, in the 
city of Rome in the year 490, there was a firm belief that 
Peter was the first Pope. But did the belief in this com- 
mence at that time? It is quite evident to any one, not an 
idiot, that if the Popes had begun so late to pretend they 
were the successors of Peter, some one would have been 
found who would have exploded the whole thing as an inno- 
vation. 

Suppose that General Grant should declare publicly that 
he is the successor in office of Napoleon ; would not the 
people come to the conclusion, at once, that too much old rye 
had made him cracked? It would have been just so in the 
days of Leo I, if there had not been a belief among the peo- 
ple, to the effect that he was the successor of Peter. 

As the existence of the round towers, in Ireland, is proof 
of an advanced state of civilization in that island at a period 
more remote than that to which our present histories go, so 
the presence of a series of portraits of the Popes, with 
Peter at the head, in one of the Roman Churches, indicates 
a belief in the public mind that he was there at a time pre- 
vious to the commencement of said series. 

We finish the present chapter with a quotation from the 
catalogue of Roman Pontiffs, published during the pontifi- 
cate of Pope Liberius. In this we read the following 
words : 



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ALETHAURION. 



" Peter reigned 25 years. 1 month and 9 days. He lived in the time 
of Tiberius Cesar, and of Caius Caligula, and of Tiberius Clau- 
dius, and of Xero. He suffered martyrdom, along with Paul, on the 
third day before the kalends of July (29th June.) under the consuls afore- 
said, Nero being emperor." 

In our next we will explain the entire significance of this 
quotation. 



CHAPTER XLIII 



LIBERIUS. 

Pope Liberius began his pontificate on the 22d of May, 
in the year 352, and continued to steer the bark of Peter 
until the 24th day of September, A. D. 366. He then 
took leave of the things of this world, and went to receive 
what he deserved in that other state of existence, to which 
popes, kings, emperors, and all of us, are marching with 
solemn and certain tread. 

Liberius was held up by those who denied papal infallibil- 
ity, as an example of a Pope who felt into error, by ap- 
proving of the Arian heresy. The learned and profound 
Bossuet tried, in his day, to make as much out of the case 
as he possibly could, in favor of Gallicanism. 

But that great and good man was, in this particular in- 
stance, laboring under a delusion. He confessed, however, 
to his secretary, towards the end of his life, that, notwith- 
standing he had studied the question thoroughly, still, he 
did not find any thing in the case of Pope Liberius that 
was entirely satisfactory, or a convincing proof to his own 
mind, that the Pope in question had really endorsed the 
Arian heresy. 

What we desire to call particular attention to, is the cata- 
logue of the Popes, published during the reign of the in- 
dividual of whom we are speaking. This catalogue is noth- 
ing more nor less than a list of all the Popes up to that 



ALETHAURION. 



191 



time, with a short account of what each did, or had done to 
him. 

In this document we find it stated that Peter, the first 
on the list, was Bishop of Eome 25 years, 1 month and 9 
days ; that he was put to death on the same day with Paul, 
during the reign of the emperor Nero ; and in it Liberius, 
whose name occurs last on the list, declares himself succes- 
sor of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles. 

This testimony is more ancient, by fifty years, than that 
of which we spoke in, the last chapter, viz : the series of 
portraits in the Ostian basilica. But, we have not yet, by 
any means, got to the end of those testimonies that ancient 
writers have seen fit to leave us on this interesting subject. 
Neither will we have finished until we shall have heard from 
the mouth of Peter himself a full confession of the fact. 

Our next argument we take from a tradition, altogether 
special from the city of Eome. There has been among the 
Eonians, from the very earliest times, a tradition, to the 
effect that the Evangelist Mark wrote his gospel in their 
city ; and having been the interpreter of Peter, put on 
parchment simply what he had heard from the Apostle. We 
give as vouchers for the existence of such a tradition, the 
following names, Ireneus, Against Heresies, book ii, chap- 
ter 8. He was bishop of Lyons, and, having suffered mar- 
tyrdom at quite an advanced age, in the year 202, we may 
regard what he has said as almost coming from the mouths 
of the Apostles themselves. He was, in fact, the disciple 
of Polycarp, who was the disciple of St. Johx, the Evan- 
gelist ; hence, he had a good opportunity of knowing some- 
thing about the labors and voyages of St. Peter, and the 
talk of the town concerning him. 

Tertullian, who lived for a long time at Eome, in book 
iv, chapter 5, Against Marcion, bears testimony to the exis- 
tence of the same belief, among the people. 

Eusebius, the Church Historian, in book iii, chapter 39, 
is another witness to the existence of the aforesaid tradition. 



192 



ALETHAURION. 



Now, admitting that the Saviour lived here on earth, as is 
generally supposed, about thirty-three years, and that St. 
Peter, before coming to Rome, was bishop of Antioch for 
a period of seven years ; taking the testimonies of Ieeneus 
and Tertullian as belonging to about the middle of the 
second century, we have the duration of this oral tradition 
narrowed down to little more than a hundred years. Is it, 
then, anything wonderful that the Christians of Rome 
should have kept alive, by oral tradition, for so short a 
period, the knowledge of so important a fact as the coming 
of St. Peter among them, and of his labors as first bishop 
of the city ? 

Let us suppose that some grand duke, or earl, should 
visit the United States this centennial year, and, in the 
course of his peregrinations through the buildings at Phila- 
delphia, should happen to ask the average Yankee lad, who 
the first President of the United States was. The boy 
would most likely 44 guess" and " calculate" that this tassel 
of royalty did not know much anyhow. Then he would 
say to him :. 44 My dear fellow, here, in America, we are 
taught by our mothers these primary facts of history, while 
we are yet nothing but pug-nosed babies." 

The Roman matron, also, told her boy of how the first 
and greatest of the Apostles came to the city, and, how, 
after twenty-five years of labors and dangers, he was at last 
so narrowly pressed by the spies of the emperor, that he 
sought safety by flying at night from the city. She took 
him outside the walls to the spot where that same Apostle, 
in his flight saw, by the uncertain light of the moon, the 
shadowy figure of a man bearing on his shoulders a heavy 
cross, and explained to him, that here words were spoken 
which convinced Peter that the time had come, when he 
was to seal with his blood as a testimony for all coming gene- 
rations, the truth of what he himself had taught the Ro- 
mans, and of what, in the persons of his successors, he was to 
teach the entire world. 



ALETHAURION. 



193 



Tradition on doctrinal points is not always reliable, unless, 
as in the case of the Catholic Church, there be a living 
teaching, infallible authority, to keep it pure. But, on ques- 
tions of fact, of public importance, and for a comparatively 
short time, the testimony of an entire city may be regarded 
as satisfactory. 

We conclude this chapter with an extract from the writ- 
ings of St. Jerome, who died, at an extreme old age, in the 
year 420. He was reputed the most learned man of his day,, 
and was consulted by even one of the Popes. In his work, 
On illustrious Men, chapter 8, we read the following : 

" Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, having been asked by 
the brethren at Eome, wrote a short gospel, putting on record those 
things which he had heard from Peter. On hearing which, Peter ap- 
proved his gospel £,nd gave it, on his authorty, to be read in the 
Churches." 

This quotation goes to establish more firmly all we have 
said on the subject of the special tradition among the Ro- 
mans, that Peter came to their city. We could give other 
testimonies from the ancient Fathers, but let those we have 
selected suffice for the present. 

In our next we will prove from the scriptures themselves 
what we have in this chapter established by tradition only. 



CHAPTEE XLIV. 



BABYLON. 

Take down your bible and look at verse 13, chap, v, of 
Peter's first epistle. There you will read the following 
words ; 

" The Church which is in Babylon, elected together, saluteth you; and 
so does ray son Mark." 

This is the passage of scripture to which we alluded to in 

the last chapter. By it is established, beyond all cavil, the 

fact that the Prince of the Apostles not only came to Rome 



194 



ALETHAURION. 



but that he gave his first instruction in writing to the faith- 
ful from that renowned metropolis, then of paganism, now of 
true Christianity. But let us proceed slowly, and speak 
first of Babylon, in the literal sense, and then we will better 
understand the full drift of our text. 

Babylon is the name of a city renowned in sacred and 
profane history ; it was situated on both sides of the 
Euphrates, about three hundred miles above its junction 
with the Tigris. 

Its founder was Nimrod, the great-grand-son of Noah, 
who, as the scripture informs us, was a ''mighty hunter 
before the Lord," and no doubt, a man of barbarous 
and wicked instincts. He began by measuring strength 
with the wild beasts that infested the country, and 
having succeeded well, he turned his hand against his own 
species, founding his empire in blood. Babylon was pro- 
bably the greatest city ever built by man. 

It stood in the center of an exceedingly fertile tract of 
country, and was watered by the Euphrates, which divided 
it into two equal parts. Its walls, which formed a perfect 
square, were three hundred feet high, eighty-seven feet 
thick at the base, and wide enough on top to allow four 
chariots to run abreast. It had one hundred brazen gates, 
and according to some writers, two hundred and fifty 
towers rising still higher than the walls, as means of defence 
against its foes. These dimensions appear to us almost 
incredible, yet they are vouched for by some of the greatest 
historians of antiquity. Babylon having been the first city 
built after the deluge, and being so strongly fortified, soon 
became the home of all the great and powerful of the 
surrounding country. 

For the Babylonian millionaire had as much confidence in 
his walls, as a means of protection to himself and his 
money, as any modern banker, in his wrought-iron and 
burglar-proof safe. The consequence of all this wealth, 
and feeling of security in the enjoyment of it, was, that the 



ALETH AUEION . 



195 



kings and people of Babylon became exceedingly proud and 
puffed up with their own consequence. 

Hence it became, and remained for ages, the home of 
luxury and iniquity, and the nest of many an unclean bird, 
until finally, the vices and wickedness of its people drew 
down upon it the wrath of Him, against whose powerful 
arm no walls" of brick nor gates of brass afford protection. 

Cyrus, the king of the Medes and Persians, marched 
against it, at the head of a mighty army, took the city by 
a strategem, killed its monarch, and relieved its people of 
much of their surplus wealth as well as conceit. 

This event happened in the year 538 before Christ, 
and, from that time the great city began to decline. Two 
hundred years later, Alexander, the son of Philip, having, 
in the three great battles of the Granicus, Arhela and 
Issus, dashed the Persian monarchy to the earth, desired to 
restore Babylon to its ancient splendor. But great and con- 
tinued success had now demented the hero and conqueror, 
who, despising the humble lot of man, sought the honors of 
a god. His officers, while admitting, what posterity has 
fully endorsed, that no such a warrior had ever before ap- 
peared in the world, were loth, notwithstanding to believe 
him an immortal being. And he who, so ambitiously 
aspired to pass for a god, is said to have died a death unbe- 
coming a man. 

After the death of Alexander, the city of Babylon 
went fast to decay, until now its desolation is so complete 
that the place where it once stood is a matter of specula- 
tion. 

Thus far we have spoken of Babylon in the literal 
sense. The name of that proud city has become a synonym 
for worldly pomp and moral depravity. It was by excel- 
lence the city of Satan, as distinguished from Jerusalem, 
the city of God. 

No other city of ancient times approached the power 
and magnificence of Babylon, except pagan Rome, and if 



196 



ALETHAURION. 



the scriptures were silent, we might doubt to which the 
palm of temporal greatness and wickedness ought to be 
awarded. But, inasmuch as the head of gold, in Daniel's 
vision, was superior to the legs of iron, so we may ■conclude 
that no greater, certainly no more wicked than the Babylo- 
nian empire ever existed. 

We now come to speak of that mystic Babylon, which 
is no other than pagan Borne. Rome, situated on the river 
Tiber, in Italy, about sixteen miles from its mouth, was 
founded by a notorious robber, named Romulus, about 753 
years B.C. Unlike Nimrod who made war on wild beasts, 
and was in consequence dreaded by them, Romulus received 
his first nourishment from the dugs of a she wolf, that 
found him exposed on the banks of the Tiber. 

After having founded the city, one of his first exploits 
was to murder his own twin brother, for having leaped over 
the walls. And in two thousand five hundred years, few, 
if any, have accomplished the feat and failed to experience 
the same fate. 

The conqueror of Canned, who sent to Carthage three 
bushels of golden rings, taken from the fingers of the 
Roman knights, slaughtered in that battle, thought it best 
not to attempt to enter the city. And it were better for a 
military Falstaff not to rush in where Hannibal feared 
to tread. 

We shall in our next, resume our musings on these inter- 
esting subjects. 



CHAPTER XLV. 



BABYLON THE MYSTIC. 

Romulus, as stated in the last chapter, was the founder 
of the city of Rome. He also gave it a name, and was 
recognized as its first king. By the word, little else need 



ALETHAUEION. 



197 



be understood, beyond the fact that he was simply a ring- 
leader among a lot of rough, half -civilized brigands. If 
Tom Allen, Jem Mace, John Morrissey or the O' Baldwin 
had lived in the days of Romulus, either of them might 
have easily become his competitor, and, may be, outshone 
him. 

Physical strength and courage were admired in ancient 
times : and, among savage tribes, are still held in as much 
esteem as intelligence ar*l refinement are among civilized 
people. Even now we all admire a fine specimen of the 
physical man; and it is just that we do so, for, whatever 
comes near perfection in nature, God has intended for our 
instruction. Moreover, look for noble qualities of mind in 
the athlete rather than in the dwarf or cross-eyed sphinx. 
There is, however, a higher type than either. Physical per- 
fection, united with mental endowment, tempered with a 
moral sense, makes the highest type of manhood. The 
Saviour, the center figure of creation, is the only human 
being that was absolutely perfect. He possessed all of 
good, physically, intellectually and morally that human 
nature, as at present constituted, is capable of receiving. 

Hence, men become great or mean in proportion, as they 
approach to or recede from the model. 

Romulus, after having engaged in many encounters with 
neighboring tribes, finally succeeded in putting down all 
opposition in his immediate vicinity. 

Then his heart was exalted, and he became somewhat of 
a tyrant. Those who had fought bw his side, and knew 
what he was, and where he had sprung from, did not wish 
to yield up all their rights and become simply his servants. 
The consequence of all this was, that, one day at a great 
celebration held in Campus Martins, some conspirators set 
■upon him daring a thunder storm, killed him, and in all 
probability, threw his body into the Tiber. 

These, in order to cover up their guilt and shield them- 
selves from the punishment it deserved, hired a man named 



198 



ALETHAURION. 



Proculus Julius, to swear in public assembly that the late 
king had appeared to him in a vision and declared that he 
had been taken up by the gods into heaven. No further 
inquires were made about Romulus ; for few troubled 
themselves about a dead king, or temporal ruler of any 
kind when cashiered. 

He was succeeded by Nu3L\ Pompilius, who, £hough not 
pugnacious and violent of temper, was not near so reliable a 
man as Romulus. 

Pompilius was, in fact, a consummate hypocrite, and, 
like all others of his kind, succeeded well in his day ; but 
left after him the seeds of rottenness and sin. 

He knew from the beginning that he had to deal with a 
rough and dangerous set of people. Hence, he tried to 
gain, by cunning and trickery, the influence that he felt it 
would be impossible for him to have acquired by manly arts. 
Numa gave out that he was favored with visits of a super- 
natural kind, from a nymph called Egeria, who taught him 
all that he should do in the way of introducing religion 
among the people. Up to this time those half civilized 
tribes of Italy were mostly, if not entirely, believers in one 
Supreme Being. 

Numa, whose soul was as tortuous as a labyrinth, for his 
own aggrandizement introduced an interminable number of 
gods and goddesses, all of whom were to be worshipped. 
But, the king himself was to be high priest. He thus suc- 
ceeded in making idolacors of the people* rendering them, 
with all this show of religion, more blind, spiritually, than 
they had been before. 

After the death of Numa Pompilius, some five other kings, 
one after another, succeeded to the throne. The last of 
these was Tarquin, surnamed the proud. He had only 
reigned a short time, when the people rose up in arms and 
sent him off, because of his arrogance and general worth- 
lessness. 

They then took the management of affairs into their own 



ALETHAUKION. 



199 



hands, and succeeded so well, that they made Rome mistress 
of the world. 

Shortly after the expulsion of King Tarquin, an idea 
appears to have grown up in the minds of the people, that 
the city itself was eternal; and that it was among the de- 
crees of fate that Rome would make laws for the world. ' 
We have not been able to discover the origin of this strange 
belief. Yet, the facts of history for the past two thousand 
five hundred years, would seem to show that it was not all 
guess work; or, at least, that there was a good deal of 
method in their guessing. Rome ruled the ancient world by 
arms, and, in modern times, she leads mankind by the gentle 
influence of religion. 

To the kingly period succeeded the republican era. During 
this time, which lasted from about the year 250 to the year 
43 before Christ, Rome made most of her conquests in 
different quarters of the world. Her victorious soldiery, 
along with the spoils and captives of conquered provinces, 
brought back with them also their vices and superstitions. 
The gods of all nations were naturalized on the banks of the 
Tiber, and the vices of the conquered taking fresh root in 
the city, flourished like briars on a grass-widow's farm. 

The number of slaves had so increased that one could be 
bought for a trifle. Indeed, such men as Luctillus are said 
to have killed a dozen or so, occasionally, and thrown their 
bodies into artificial lakes to feed his eels. It was believed 
that fish fed on the flesh of slaves were more tender and 
palatable than if they had been brought up on common 
worms. With the acquisition of wealth and the removal of 
all fear of enemies from without, vice and immorality held 
high carnival in Rome, until finally a change of some kind 
had to come. 

This was brought about by Julius Cesar, a Roman by 
birth, a man of great natural ability, eloquent in the senate 
and courageous in the field. By way of preparation for 
upsetting the government of his native city, he led an army 



200 



ALETHAURION. 



into Gaul , and. is said to have destroyed one million of the 
inhabitants. 

Cesar succeeded in putting himself at the head of affairs 
in Rome, but his great merits as a commander and states- 
man, as well as the oppressiveness of genius triumphant, 
excited the envy and hatred of those who were his pretended 
friends, bat, in reality, political rivals ; each, one of whom 
would be a Caesar if he could. But it is a great deal easier 
to kill a man of genius, than to act as one ; a lesson which 
Brutus learned to his cost at Philippi. 

Shortly after the death of Cesar, his nephew, Augustus, 
became emperor. During his mild and peaceful reign, 
Rome grew apace. But he was succeeded by four others of 
his blood, of whom it may be said, if history speaks aright, 
that they were little less than incarnations of the Devil. 
While these reigned, Rome, already bad, became diabolical, 
until the Christains who lived there, called it, in the mystic 
sense, Babylon. 

In our next we will show from parallel passages of scrip- 
ture, and from the testimony of co-temporary, or almost 
co-temporary, writers that the Babylon spoken of by St. 
Peter is no other than Pagan liome. 



CHAPTER XL VI. 



HUGO DE GROOT. 

In the last two chapters we spoke of Babylon in the literal 
as well as mystic sense of the word ; it remains that we see 
to which of these Peter alludes, in his first epistle. The 
question is altogether one of fact, and must be decided by 
extrinsic evidence. Let us see, then, what reasons have we 
for supposing that Peter had reference to Babylon on the 
Tiber, and not to that other on the Euphrates. 

Along with those arguments given already in previous 



ALETHAURION. 



201 



chapters, we may mention, that, at the time Peter wrote 
his epistle, and for many years after, it was customary 
among the Christians living in Rome, to call the city Baby- 
lon. In support of this assertion we would refer the reader 
to chapters xvii and xviii, of the book of Revelation ; where 
St. Johx, the Apostle, speaks, according to the opinion of 
the best commentators of Pagan Rome, under the name of 
Babylon. 

Heretics freely admit this. But, like every thing else 
that comes from them, truth and error are hopelessly 
mixed. They do not deny that St. Johx, in the chapters 
alluded to, speaks of Rome ; but, by Rome, they do not 
mean as we do, and as the sense and facts of history require, 
that Pagan Empire which put to death millions of Catholics, 
our ancestors in the faith. 

The Mystic Babylon spoken of in chapters xvii and xviii 
of Revelation, means, according to them, the Catholic 
Church itself. The idea is, of course, in perfect conformity 
with the character of their minds. It bears the image and 
the superscription of Lucifer, whose system of atacking 
mankind consists in being entirely unsystematic. Satan 
does not care whether he gains his point logically or by a 
fallacy. He does not argue in regular form with, mankind, 
when he desires to draw them on to destruction. He asserts, 
contradicts, distorts facts ; and, on those who tamper with 
him, he usually succeeds in producing a bewilderment of 
intellect that leads to infidelity ; and, once that he has drawn 
his victim into disbelief, he puts the finishing touch to his 
work by suggesting immorality. 

It is thus, also, but in a far less perfect manner, that men 
tainted with infidelity or heresy, write and speak about 
religious matters. They do not study consistency, nor do 
they care about it. They choose rather to misrepresent the 
existing religion than attempt to give us any thing better 
instead of it. But, as religion is not so open to sarcasm as 
those who make profession of it, and may be said to repre- 



202 



ALETHAURION. 



sent, hence, it happens that men tainted with the spirit of 
heresy, expend their witticisms on the ministers themselves, 
instead of attacking what they preach. In dealing with such 
characters, the most effective weapon appears to be the 
sword of the flesh, which is the knuckles. 

Luther, at the beginning of the Protestant reformation, 
abused and ridiculed monks, and religious orders generally, 
with such persistency, that many, by the mere force of hear- 
ing the same lie repeated so often, believed it at last. He 
was the perfection ; the ne plus ultra of an heresiarch and 
balked at nothing. Drunkenness, profanity and adultery 
were his pastimes. Consequently, it may be said that such 
a man as he, was impervious to any other than physical 
arguments. 

It was he who first called Christian Home, or rather the 
Catholic Church, by the name of Babylon. But to attempt 
to define by what line of argument he arrived at such a con- 
clusion, would be the same as trying to fathom Satax, whose 
leadership Luther followed on all occasions, after his apos- 
tacy ; may be without being aware of the dreadful depth 
and designs of that arch enemy of the human race. The 
common run of preachers nowadays only repeat, on this sub- 
ject, those ideas which Luther got from Lucifer. The 
only difference in the case is this, that Satan, by his arts, 
had evidently produced a bewilderment in the mind of the 
heresiarch, just as hawks do, by flapping their wings in the 
eyes of those rabbits they desire to catch ; whereas he sim- 
ply drives along in a quiet way, the heterodox of our times, 
just as a man would a drove of cattle to the shambles. 

When we reflect on the fact that, of all those who have 
believed in Christ, from the days of the Apostles to our 
own, fully five-sixths, and probably a higher average, have 
been Catholics ; when we take into consideration that all the 
nations converted from Paganism, had the light of the gos- 
pel first pointed out to them by Catholic missionaries ; when 
we find that, in the Church of Rome alone, the three 



ALETHAURION. 



203 



evangelical counsels, of voluntary poverty, perpetual chastity 
and entire obedience, are practiced, we certainly must con- 
clude that there must be a bewilderment of intellect in the 
man who calls Christian Rome by the name of Babylon. 

But, let us return again to the point. That Peter, in his 
epistle, means Pagan Rome, receives further confirmation 
from what we read in the writings of Terttjllian. In book 
iii, chapter 13, Against Marcion, and in chapter ix, of his 
tract Against the Jews, he bears testimony to the fact that 
in his time it was a very common practice among Christians, 
to speak of Pagan Rome under the title of Babylon. 

St. Jeroinie, also, in chapter viii, of his work on Illustri- 
ous Men, uses the following words : 

' ; Peter, in his first epistle, under the name of Babylon, figuratively 
means Rome." 

There have been many conjectures offered by learned men 
as the reason why Peter used the word Babylon instead of 
Rome. It is foreign to our purpose to take up and weigh 
these different opinions. But, we may by allowed to offer 
one of our own. We regard it as entirely probable that 
Peter had no other motive, when he put on parchment the 
word Babylon, beyond the desire to express his dissatisfac- 
tion with a city that represented an idea that he was com- 
missioned to combat. 

We have frequently, in this work, made use of the word 
heretic simply and solely to express our contempt and dis- 
like of religious error ; though, in our daily relations with 
heresy, in the concrete, it can scarcely be said that we -have 
ever knowingly slighted any one on account of his belief. 

The Apostles, and, in fact, most, if not all the ancient 
Fathers of the Church, were very select in their words. 
That is, if a man was a heretic they called him so. There 
was no ''separated brethren" in those days. So, when the 
Prince of the Apostles had occasion to speak of the city of 
the Caesars, he fossilized his detestation of its vices and 
wickedness in the word "Babylon." 



204 



ALETHAURION. 



We bring the present chapter to a close with a quotation 
from a Dutchman, named Hugo de Groot. In Latin he 
is called Grotius, and, among men of ability in his day, he 
held no mean place. De Groot was a Protestant, but 
wrote with a fairness that deserves commendation. His 
works are numerous, and on a variety of subjects. In his 
commentary on the first epistle of Peter, this wise Dutch- 
man thus sagely remarks : 

" Concerning Babylon, the ancient and modern commentators disa- 
gree. The ancients understand Koine, where no true Christian will deny- 
that Petek lived. The modern interpreters think that Babylon, in 
Chaldea, is meant. I am on the side of the ancients." 

In our next we will see what Clement has had to say on 

the subject. 



CHAPTER XL VII. 



CLEMENT. 

The name of Clement is a celebrated one in the annals 
of the Catholic Church. No fewer than, fourteen popes 
have, up to the present time, been known by that title. It 
is of the first of these we intend to speak in the present 
chapter. He was born in Rome about the year thirty of 
our era, lived to the ripe old age of seventy, and died a 
martyr for the faith. 

This Clement of whom we are speaking, was for some 
time a companion of St. Paul ; and, it is of him the Apos- 
tle speaks in his epistle to the Philippians in the following 
words : 

" I pray thee also, my sincere companion, help those women who have 
labored with me in the gospel with Clement, * * * whose names are 
in the book of life.'* 

Let the reader, then, bear in mind what were the relations 
of Clement with St. Paul. He was the Apostle's compan- 
ion, and consequently had an excellent opportunity of know- 



ALETHAURION. 



205 



ing something about him. Primitive traditions assure us 
that this same Clement was ordained priest by St. Peter, 
whom he succeeded as fourth pope of Eome. 

These matters being well understood, we come to a fact 
in his life which has a bearing on that question of which we 
have been treating, viz : the coming of Peter to Eome. 

Towards the close of Orient's pontificate, or about the 
year 96, there rose quite a contention, about something or 
another, among the faithful of Corinth, in Greece. As is 
usual, in all Church disputes the contending factions han- 
dled one another without gloves. Finally, the wise counsels 
of some peace-makers prevailed, and the whole matter in 
dispute was referred for settlement to the Pope. Ancient 
writers do not tell us what the trouble among those Co- 
rinthians was about ; and, in all probability, it was not very 
clear to themselves. We know that there was a schism or a 
split in the Church, but the causes that gave rise to it, we 
have no means of discovering. 

However, it may not be uninteresting that we give vent ta 
some speculations on the subject. We have only to bear in 
mind that, at the period of which we are speaking, that is, 
about one hundred years after the birth of Christ, Corinth 
was a very large and powerful city, its position being fa- 
vorable from a commercial point of view. 

Hence, its population was of that nondescript, which is- 
found in all large cities of recent growth. We say recent, 
for though Corinth was one of the most ancient cities of 
Greece, yet, that of which we are now speaking only went 
back to the time of Julius Cesar, some fifty years before 
Christ. 

The Kornan Consul, Mroniius, had, about one hundred 
years before, entirely wiped out the historic Corinth, by 
butchering its adult male inhabitants and selling its women 
and children into slavery. The place remained desolate for 
the period of one hundred years , when it was again colonized 
by Julius Cesar. Its population, therefore, was made up 



206 



ALETHAURION. 



of the descendants of those old Eomans, of Greeks who had 
been drawn from the surrounding country, and of a medley 
of Western barbarians and Oriental slaves. 

The descendants of the Romans assumed an air of supe- 
riority over the others, and were fond of throwing into 
relief the relations their ancestors bore to so great a man as 
Cesar. Nor would it have served any good purpose, at so 
late a day, to have intimated that Caesar got recruits for his 
band of colonists, principally from the prisons and work- 
houses of the great city. 

At the time of which we are speaking these different races 
had not as yet merged into one people. Each retained, in a 
great measure, its own peculiarities, and, as far as practic- 
able, a dislike and hatred of all who were not of their party. 
The very same may be observed even to-day, in many of the 
Oriental cities where Turks, Greeks, Armenians, Syrians, 
<fec, live for years together, even for centuries, and still re- 
tain within the same city walls, all their national peculiari- 
ties and antipathies. And the spirit may be found to some 
extent even here in America. 

With this explanation, it will not be difficult to make at 
least a prudent guess as to what the trouble was. St. Peter, 
St. Paul, and others of the early Evangelists, had made 
proselytes to Christianity from the various classes of which 
we have been speaking. 

But, though all these might have agreed in their belief, 
yet it is but fair to suppose that many still retained their 
national prejudices, and that each clan had its favorite pres- 
byters and ministers. Indeed we have some pretty strong 
evidence of this in Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians, 
where he finds fault with them because some were for one 
minister and some for another. 

Those from Alexander, originally, who had settled in 
Corinth, lauded their own man, Apollo, most likely because 
he was their countryman. Though it must be said of 



ALETHAURION. 



207 



Apollo, that he certainly deserved all the praise he got, 
having been a very learned and eloquent man. 

Those who came from the neighborhood of Tarsus, were 
of course, proud of the wisdom and genius of Paul him- 
self ; and in this their judgment succeeding generations have 
with singular unanimity concurred. 

Others again who might have come from Galilee, stood up 
for Cephas, because he was a Galilean. Such indeed, was 
the spirit in Corinth. Neither party would give in to the 
other. 

The Apostles, of course, disapproved of such doings. Yet 
like wise men, they did not undertake to uproot that feeling 
of partiality which each of these classes had for its own 
country and countrymen. They knew that the Saviour had 
sent them to uproot vice and not patriotism. 

They made presbyters in almost all the large towns they 
had passed through, and took these from the people in each 
place, giving Greek priests to Greek people, Syrian priests 
to Syrian people, &c. The Apostles were, themselves, as a 
matter of course, entirely unprejudiced on matters apper- 
taining to race and nationality ; but they knew at the same 
time that the various people they had to deal with were 
not so. 

Hence, when an Athenian gloried in the eloquence of 
Demosthenes, the versatility of Themistocles or the 
bravery of Miltiades, they did not snub him for his patriot- 
ism ; but showed him that there was one more deserving of 
his esteem and his love than any hero Greece had ever pro- 
duced. 

Such was the condition of affairs at Corinth in the days 
of St. Paul ; and that it was not much improved some forty 
or fifty years later, we learn from the letter of Pope 
Clement to those same Corinthians. 

In the opening chapters he speaks of the evils of emula- 
tion and contention among brethren, and introduces various 
examples from the Old Testament. Then in chapter v, he 



208 



ALETHAURION. 



tells of what the Apostles, especially Peter and Paul had 
suffered on account of envy and jealousy ; and in chapter vi,. 
still speaking of those two Apostles, he used these words : 
" They were in our midst, a most beautiful example." 

Here, then, we have Clement, the companion of St. 
Paul, the intimate friend of St. Peter, writing from Borne* 
only about thirty years after their death ; and declaring 
that both of them were examples among us, i. e., evidently 
among us Romans. Who then, after such testimony, can 
deny that Peter came to Rome ? 

In our next text we will see what Ignatius has to say on 
the subject. 



CHAPTER XLVIII. 



IGNATIUS. 

There are three of this name, celebrated in Church his- 
tory. The first was bishop of Antioch, and was devoured 
by wild beasts in the Flavian amphitheater at Rome, in the 
year 107 of our era. 

The second was patriarch of Constantinople at the time 
Photius drew the Greeks from the Latin Church. He died 
A. D. 878. 

The third was Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the 
Jesuits ; born in Spain in 1491, died in Rome in 1556. 

It is of the first of these we mean to speak. 

Ignatius was, after the Apostles, one of the most cele- 
brated bishops of antiquity. The first mention of him 
occurs in verse 2d, chapter xviii of Matthew's gospel. It is 
there stated that, when the Disciples had quarreled among 
themselves, as to which of them should be the greatest, 
the Saviour called a little child, and, placing him in the 
midst of them, said : 

" Unless you be converted and become as little children you shall not 
enter the kingdom of Heaven." 



AT/ETHAURION. 



209 



This was to teach them not to be looking for the honors 
of this world, but rather to cultivate that simplicity of heart, 
by which one becomes truly great in the kingdom of Chbist 
here, and that of His Father hereafter. 

There is a sect somewhere " down East," the members of 
which interpret in the literal sense the text we have given. 
Instead of going to the expense of putting up churches, 
paying preachers, sextons, singers, &c, as is done among 
other denominations, these primitive Christians buy a level 
lot, at a convenient distance from town, put up a high board 
fence around it, being careful to strip the joinings and 
other ajDertures. Here they meet on Sundays. The old 
men appear in knickerbockers and take exercise on broom- 
sticks, which they call horses, the women wear short dresses 
like children, and devote great attention to dolls and other 
infantile playthings. 

Little pools of water are made, here and there, through- 
out the inclosure, and the services are generally brought to 
an end by some one falling, either by accident or design, 
into one of these puddles. Word is then passed around 
that " Billy Brow^ fell in the mud," and all rush to the 
spot and set up a laugh. Finally his little sister gets excit- 
ed and says , "I am going to tell on you !" Then Billy 
gets up, and, makes a race for home, to tell his own story 
first. 

This is one of the most interesting parts of the service, 
as only a corpulent brother, and a two Jiundred pound sister 
are considered fit to lead in it. Each must fail down, at 
least twice, before getting to the house. The rest follow, 
clapping their hands ; some shouting, " run Billy" — others, 
" go it Sally — stick to it old lassy — go for him I" 

For the coming few days little else is talked of among 
those deluded people but Billy Brown's eloquent sermon. 
And thus the world wags. Into these and kindred vagaries 
do men run who have not the light of faith to direct their 
steps. 



210 



AUETHAURION • 



But let us return to Ignatius. Ancient tradition assures 
us that the little child placed in the midst of the Apostles 
was no other than he, of whom we are speaking. After 
having arrived at the years of discretion, he became the 
disciple of St. John the Evangelist, and was ordained by 
St. Peter; to whom, after the death of Eyodius, he suc- 
ceeded as bishop of Antioch. 

So great had been his success in gaining souls to Christ 
that he excited the envy of the Pagans and Jews of Antioch ; 
who only awaited a favorable opportunity to call for his 
death, or banishment from the city. This was afforded 
them by a visit from the emperor, as he was on his way to 
make war on the Partheans and Armenians. 

The venerable old man was dragged before the Pagan 
tribunal, commanded to sacrifice to the gods, which he, of 
course, refused to do. Trajan, who was of a humane 
disposition of mind, desired to spare the life of his vener- 
ble prisoner, but the Pagan populace clamored for his blood, 
and he at length yielded. This was as might have been 
expected. For when was a Roman emperor ever known to 
sacrifice his popularity, or even risk it, for a Christian, 
however innocent. That standing np for right, and not 
allowing the innocent to suffer, is a characteristic of Chris- 
tian, not of Pagan Rome. 

Ignatius was condemned to be devoured by wild beasts in 
the Coliseum, Trajan, having thus quieted the Pagans of 
Antioch and gained their good will, thought no more of this 
old man. 

After sentence has been passed, Ignatius was taken in 
charge of by the authorities, and preparations made for 
sending him to the great city. A company, made up of the 
most abandoned and immoral troopers to be found in the 
whole army, was organized for this special purpose. It 
was feared that if ordinary soldiers were taken, Ignatius 
would convert them before they had reached Rome. The 



ALETHAURION. 



211 



consequence was that things were made as unpleasant as 
possible for him on his way to death. 

When he had arrived at Smyrna, where Polycarp, the 
disciple of St. John, was bishop, he wrote four letters : 
one to the faithful of Ephesus, another to the Chruch at 
Magnesia, a third to the Christians of Tralles, and a fourth 
to the Komans. After having left Smyrna, he wrote a let- 
ter to the faithful there ; another to the Philadelphians, and 
one to Polycarp himself. The genuinity of these epistles 
has always been admitted by Catholic writers, and by 
Protestants of any name ; nor was it until the seventeenth 
century that some scribblers began to question, even to 
deny they are his. 

St. Ignatius, in those epistles, speaks in a very clear and 
distinct way of the real presence; of the sacrament of 
matrimony ; of the divine institution of the ecclesiastical 
hierarchy, and of other matters which, to heretics, are diffi- 
cult of digestion. Hence, they thought it much easier to 
say the letters were spurious than to contend against the 
authority of such a man as Ignatius. 

We need not trouble ourselves to refute these, since the 
Anglican bishop, Pearson, has done it for us. When 
heretics contend with one another, we stand aside and enjoy 
the sport, as we would an encounter of rams. It must be 
said of Pearson, that he certainly succeeded in butting his 
adversaries outside the ropes, for which we give him credit 
and thanks. 

Isaac Yoss, a Holland Dutchman, and for a time profes- 
sor in the University of Oxford, was of opinion that there 
is sufficient intrinsic evidence to prove they are genuine. 

The best work, however, on the subject is that of Profes- 
sor Neve, of the University of Louvain. In this, the 
learned doctor establishes, beyond all cavil, the genuinity 
of the letters. 

Since these things are so, let us bring all we have said to 
bear upon the point at which we are aiming, viz : that Peter 



212 



ALETHAURION. 



came to Rome. Towards the end of chapter iv, of his 

epistle to the Romans, Ignatius uses these words : 

" I do not give you precepts, as did Sts. Peter and Paul; they were 
Apostles of Jesus Christ. I am the least of .all." 

From this it will be seen that, not only St. Paul, but 
also St. Peter taught the Romans, and we may justly infer 
that they came on the spot to do it. 

In our next we will continue about Ignatius, and give 
some facts about the Coliseum, where he was martyred, and 
of the Church of St. Clement, where his remains now are. 



CHAPTER XLIX." 

LET LOOSE THE LIONS. 

In the last chapter we spoke of the letter of Ignatius to 
the Romans, in which he refers to the fact that they had 
been instructed in the faith by the Apostles Peter and 
Paul. But he only alludes to it, just as any Catholic 
bishop of the present day, in writing a letter of congratula- 
tion, or of thanks for some favor received, to the faithful 
of Baltimore, for example, might speak of the circumstance 
that they had been blessed by the preaching and example of 
the sainted Archbishop Carroll. 

Ignatius refers to a fact that was well known to the 
Romans, but does not undertake to prove it, for it would 
have been as needless in him to have done so, as it would 
be in the writer to set to work and prove that U.S. Grant 
was elected President of the United States some eight years 
ago, and that when his term of office had expired, he was 
again returned to the White House. 

Cotemporary writers who are not professed chroniclers, 
scarcely ever more than allude to a fact which all are pre- 
sumed to know. 

Now, before passing on to give the testimony of Papias, 



ALETHAURION. 



213 



and of others, it may not be altogether devoid of intereat, 
nor unacceptable, that we continue the history of that holy 
old soldier of the faith, of whom we have been speaking. 
On the way from Antioch to Rome, he complains in his 
letter, of the rough treatment he experienced at the hands 
of the soldiers who composed his guard. "The more kindly 
I treat them," says he, "the worse they get." 

This gloating over the sufferings of bishops, priests and 
other confessors of the faith, which is often observable in 
Pagans and heretics, cannot well be accounted for on any 
other hypothesis than by admitting the secret influence of 
the devil, who hates Christ, and, consequently his servants 
also. We, Catholics, do not abuse and malign heretics and 
infidels, in those places where we are in the majority. On 
the contrary, we accord them every liberty we claim for 
ourselves. We respect conscience, even in those cases 
where we may have good reason to suppose that it is simply 
seared, and does not act at all. We leave the judgment of 
our fellow-beings to God, to whom it rightly belongs. In 
Austria, where Catholics are vastly in the majority, the her- 
etics have their own schools, supported by the government, 
just as those of the faithful are. In France, the same way. 
Even in the Catholic parts of Canada the heretics enjoy the 
same privileges that the others do. When a Catholic gentle- 
man has a servant who is a heretic, he does not abuse him, 
nor attempt to be witty by saying that only Infidels, Protest- 
ants and dogs eat meat on Friday. 

This charity of Catholics towards unbelievers is, to the 
mind of the writer, one of the best proofs that the spirit of 
Christ is in His Church. Now, take a brief view of the 
other side of the question. 

Look at Prussia, an Infidel, or Protestant government, it 
would be hard to say which, persecuting Catholics in every 
way that the spirit of the age can permit. Look at Eussia 
whose career for the past one hundred and fifty years has 
been one of persecution. 



214 



ALETHAUBION . 



• To come down to individuals : is there a Catholic, who has 
lived for a time among heretics, that does not know that 
they are continually harping on the Pope, on bishops, 
priests, nuns, etc. 

Moreover, it is a well known fact that, when a Catholic 
runs for office, the heterodox will not vote for him, simply 
and solely because he is a Catholic. 

We may look upon these facts as demonstrating that the 
spirit of the devil, which is that of hate, directs the head 
and heart of the unbeliever, when he has the true Church 
under consideration. This spirit burned in the breasts of 
the Pagans of old, and it burns in the breasts of the heretics 
now. 4 4 You shall be hated by all men, for my name 
sake," (Matt, x, 22), said the Saviour to His Apostles. 

After a long and painful voyage, Ignatius at last ar- 
rived at the mouth of the Tiber, where there was then a 
town called Ostia. He was not permitted to rest there 
long, but was hurried on to the city that very day. It was 
the 20th of December. 

News of his arrival at the port had gone before him to 
Rome, and great numbers of the faithful came out to meet 
him, and get his blessing. This greeting is said to have 
taken place on, or near, the spot where the Church of St. 
Paul now stands. Ignatius besought those good people not 
to pray for his deliverance, but rather allow him to receive 
that crown of martyrdom for which he had sighed and 
prayed for years. 

As soon as he had passed within the walls, the Coliseum 
met his gaze, and the confused shouts of the multitude, 
mingled with the roaring of wild beasts, might have terrified 
any other than the true Catholic hero that he was. The 
last, but one, of a batch of gladiators had just fallen in the 
arena, and the shouts which he heard were the praises of 
the spectators given to the conqueror. 

A dead silence came over the multitude as the captain of 
the military company that had him in charge, led Ignatius 



ALETHAUEION. 



215 



through the eastern gate to the center of the arena, and 
thence, at right angles, to the inrperial pavilion. The em- 
peror was absent ; but the prefect of the city held his place. 
Blood-thirsty monster as he was, the prefect was yet moved 
with pity on oeholding so aged and venerable a man about 
to be made the food of ferocious beasts. He invited Igna- 
tius to sacrifice to the gods and save his life. But the old 
soldier of the cross answered with the independence and 
freedom that became a Catholic, insomuch that Iris frank- 
ness displeasedthe servant of his majesty, the emperor. 

The Pagan horde, accustomed to fawn irpon those in 
power, seeing not only the prefect, but the gods of Rome 
set at defiance, cried out as with one voice, " Let loose the 
lions!" 

Ignatius was again conducted to the center of the arena 
where he knelt in prayer. The grating of the heavy iron 
gates was heard, and two Numidian lions bounded from 
their den. A few moments more^ and the soul of Ignatius 
had sped on its way to the realms of eternal bliss. 

With a sign from the prefect, the games were declared 
closed, and the multitude dispersed. That night, what re- 
mained of the martyr's bones were collected by a few faith- 
ful brethren and taken to the house of Clement, not far 
from the Coliseum. From thence thev were brought to 
Antioch, and buried outside of Porta Daphnitica, or gate of 
Daphne. 

In the days of the Emperor Heeaclius they were again 
transferred back to Rome and placed in the Church of St. 
Clement. 

During the incursions of the barbarians this Church had 
gone to ruin, and remained so until the twelfth century, 
when a new one, which remains to this day, was erected on 
the site. 

Not many years ago, Father Mulooly, prior of the Irish 
Dominicans, -who have charge of it, made excavations, and 
laid open to the eyes of men of the nineteenth century some 



216 



ALETHAUEION. 



of the practices of the Church in the fourth. The frescoes, 
or paintings on the old walls, show priests and deacons 
dressed as they are to-day when saying mass. The inscrip- 
tions are also in accordance with our present belief. Many 
of the more intelligent Protestants have been converted by 
those painted sermons on the walls. 

During the excavations, the relics of Ignatius were also 
discovered, and were borne in solemn procession to the arena 
of the Coliseum, and placed, for a short time, on the spot 
where, nearly eighteen centuries ago, he gave testimony, and 
shed his blood for the faith. 

The writer had the honor of taking part in that procession. 
But time had wrought changes — the Coliseum in ruins — the 
cross in the center of its arena — Cesar only a name — the 
Galilean has conquered — and thus it will ever be. 

Our next will be about Papias. 



CHAPTEE L. 



PAPIAS. 

In chapter xxix we had occasion to speak of Papias, and 
of the millennium, with which his name has become insepa- 
rably connected. We introduce him here again, as one of 
those cotemporary writers, who speak of the coming of St. 
Peter toEome. 

Papias was bishop of Hierapolis, a city of Phrgyia, in 
Asia Minor, and having died at an advanced age, in the year 
118, he may be regarded as cceval with the Apostles. It is 
highly probable, however, that he did not, himself, see nor 
converse with any of them . 

Eusebius, bishop of Cesarea, in Palestine, surnamed the 
Father of Church History, speaks, in a part of his works, 
in terms by no means nattering of the mental capacity of 
Papias. He calls him a man of very little head. . 



ALETHAURION. 



217 



Such an expression does not comport very well with our 
ideas of a bishop, especially in those primitive times, when 
the best and most intelligent were usually raised to that 
office. There was but little earthly fame or gain attached to 
the mitre in those days, and the unworthy, who, under more 
favorable circumstances, might have aspired to it, were will- 
ing then, that good apostolic little men, like Papias, should 
have all the glory as well as the troubles and dangers con- 
nected with it. 

Hence, the vast majority of the bishops of the early 
Church were, not only of great sanctity, but also of intel- 
lectual endowments far above the average. 

The system of electing bishops by the presbyters and 
people prevailed iu those days ; and that also may account 
for the fact that the best that could be found were taken to 
preside over the Church. When we speak here of the 
election of bishops by the people, we must not be under- 
stood as using the word in the sense that the Campbellites 
and Baptists of the present day employ it. 

They elect their preachers it is true, but, in the Church 
of Christ something else must come after the election to 
office, in order that a man may be really a minister, in the 
apostolic sense of the word ; and, it is precisely this some- 
thing else, viz : orders and jurisdiction, which neither the 
Baptists, Campbellites, nor any other heretical sect, is able 
to give. Seeing then that great care and vigilance were 
made use of, in the early days of the Church, in the matter 
of promoting men to bishoprics, we may well wonder, if the 
testimony of Eusebius be true, how such a man as Papias 
got into a mitre. 

The writer is disposed to think, that the words of the 
historian, (ingenii quidem pertenuis) spoken of Papias, 
must not be taken in the strict and literal sense. In fact, 
Eusebius, in another part of his history, speaks of Papias 
In terms of the greatest praise. He calls him a very learned 



218 



ALETHAURION. 



man, and most skillful in the scriptures. (Book III, 
c. 36.) 

St. Jerome also, in his 71st Epistle, which is to Licrarus, 
excuses himself for not translating the works of Papias 
into Latin, by saying that he had not the time nor the 
ability to do justice, in a translation, to the original. 

Seeing then that our friend is called, in one place, an 
imbecile, almost, and in another, a learned man and an ele- 
gant writer, that the reader may not conceive a wrong idea 
of St. Jerome, and Eusebius too, we propose giving our 
own opinion about Papias, and letting it stand for what it 
is worth. 

To begin : let it be remembered that, to render a true 
judgment on the merits of another, is a most difficult under- 
taking. Most of the judgments that men make about each 
other are entirely wrong ; and if, in some cases, they turn 
out correct it is only after the fact that the judges become 
thoroughly persuaded of their own sharpness and foresight. 
Hence the highest Wisdom has said "judge not." 

Not alone an intimate knowledge of a man's daily life is 
required when he is put in the balance, but also freedom 
from prejudice, and genius of the highest kind, in him who 
makes the estimate. 

Alexander Pope, the poet, said, that Shakspeare's 
writings were the finest specimens of the bombastic. If he 
had seen Hamlet, as punctuated by Barry Sullivan, or 
Edwin Bootpi, probably he would have changed his mind. 

Some of the writings of Goldsmith were frightfully cut 
up by critics, who could not have done as well. 

Byron was very roughly handled by Jeffrey, a man who 
never wrote a line of poetry in his life, fit for any one to 
read. 

After the battle of Wagram, a former professor in a 
French military academy, a friend of the Bourbon dynasty, 
wrote a book in which he proved, to his own satisfaction, 
that Napoleon did not know much about the real science of 



ALETHAUEION. 



219 



war ; and that his victories were principally owing to chance. 
The pedagogue sent a copy of this book to the Archduke 
Charles,, who was next to Bonaparte, one of the best gen- 
erals of those times. The Archduke read it with much sat- 
isfaction, and remarked to a friend, when through : 

"I can find no fault in the logic of this book, everthing appears well 
thought out, and the observations of the author seem to be entirely just 
and proper. Yet," said his grace, in conclusion, " of one thing I am 
certain, that if the writer of this book had to lead an army against Napo- 
leon as I did at Aspern, Esling and Wagram, he would very soon dis- 
cover a flaw in his logic, and confusion in his ranks." 

Thus are the judgments of men warped, sometimes by 

ignorance of those they have under consideration, oftener 

by the hatred, envy, jealousy or incapacity of the judge 

himself. 

With these observations, let us again return to Papias. 
He collected all the oral traditions that were afloat in his 
day concerning the Saviour and his Apostles, These he put 
in book form and called it " An exposition of the discourses 
of our Lord." It is to be regretted that only a few frag- 
ments of this work remain, preserved in the writings of 
Eusebius, 

Now, as Papias was, confessedly, a learned, pious and 
zealous bishop, a firm believer in the divinity of Christ, 
which he, no doubt, put forward in a very clear way in his 
book, does it not look natural enough that Eusebius 9 who 
was tainted with Arianism, should in his history, have at- 
tempted to set aside the testimony of such a man, by calling 
him a credulous blockhead. This looks natural. For men 
of schismatical or heretical proclivities have a great talent 
for covering up the truth ; or inserting in its stead, their 
own imaginings. 

Let us now listen to what our friend has to say. Eusebius, 
book II, chap. 15, thus introduces him : 

" To whom also w r e may add Papias, the "bishop of Hierapolis. He 
affirms that mention is made of Mark by Peter, in his first epistle, 
which epistle he contends was written in Rome, and that Peter himself 
insinuates as much by calling Rome, in a figurative sense, Babylon." 



220 



ALETHAURIQN. 



Thus for pAPrAS — and in justice to truth, it must be said 
that he is the only coternporary writer that mentions, in ex- 
press words, that Petee was in Rome. Clement and Igna- 
tius merely allude to the fact without stating it in so many 
words. 

Our next will contain the testimony of Caius. 



CHAPTER LI. 



CAIUS. 

Caius or Guy, was one of the commonest names among 
the ancient Romans. It comports most nearly to Sandy 
among the Scotch, or Hans among the Dutch at the present 
day. 

As an illustration of this fact we may mention that, after 
the marriage ceremony in those times, it was customary for 
the lady, who then as well as now, is presumed to have the 
last word to say to her husband, " ubi tu Caius, ego Caia." 
That is, where you are Caius, I will be Caia — where you 
are a good husband, I will be a good wife — where you are 
Hans, I will be Barbara. 

It must be confessed that, in a country like this we live 
in, where the young ladies are, generally speaking, all that 
ought to be expected, and the young men a trifling set, as a 
general rule, it would not be a bad idea, after the marriage 
contract, for the party of the feminine gender to say to her 
lord, " now show yourself a man, a husband, and I will 
show myself a woman, a wife." The great trouble in our 
day, especially in the cities, is that men do not show them- 
selves husbands. They are in the saloons when they ought 
to be at home, and they spend for grog the money that 
ought to be used to buy clothes and shoes for their brats. 

But we started out to speak of things that occurred long 



ALETHAURION. 



221 



ago, and here we are moralizing about the present. Let us 
begin anew. 

Caius, whose name stands at the head of this chapter, 
was an ancient Koman presbyter, or priest. As regards his 
personal history, we know but little, beyond the fact that 
he was a man of great zeal and a champion of the faith in 
his day and generation. Had it not been for the Church 
historian, Eusebius, in all probability, the memory of the 
good that he did, would long since have been interred with 
his bones. We may judge, however, from the notices of 
him that have came down to us, that he was considerable 
of a factor in the Church, and that he gave the heretics of 
his time many a vigorous blow. 

Caius was the father of Tom Maguire of .Kome. He lip- 
pears to have been by nature a soldier, and the learning 
that he possessed was not in his library, but in his head. 
" I fear a man of one book," is an old Spanish proverb, 
and it contains a great deal of wisdom ; but the man who 
has genuine individuality of character is a customer more 
difficult to handle. There are men, who if asked even a rea- 
sonably plain question, on a scientific subject, will tell you 
what this author, that one, and the other have said, bnt 
when requested to give their own judgment, they lack the 
ability to do so. Such men are like truncated cones ; they 
never come to the point, and consequently do, most gener- 
ally, fail in whateTer they undertake. 

Of quite a contrary character was our friend Caius. He 
could, with great rapidity, look through a complicated mass 
of facts and theories, brush aside what was unimportant, 
and concentrate all the powers of his mind on the main 
issue. This faculty for sifting things, on short notice, is 
really a gift, and when possessed in an eminent degree, 
makes its owner approximate, in a manner, to the angelic 
nature. 

Now, at the time of which we are speaking, A. D. 200- 
217, during the pontificate of Pope Zerherinus, there was 



222 



ALETHAURION. 



a set of heretics in Eorne that went by the name of Cata- 
phrigians. They formed one of the branches of the Monta- 
nist heresy, and bore the same relation to Montanus, the 
founder of the sect, that the Baptists, Campbellites, Metho- 
dists or Mormons of the present day, do to Martin Luther, 
the founder of Protestantism. 

To this sect belonged Proculus, a person who had all 
the obstinacy of a heresiarch, along with the cunning, 
trickery, audacity and immorality peculiar to the same. 
He had, however, a ready tongue, and some learning. By 
going around challenging, and disputing with other heretics, 
he had become quite notorious, and raised as much dust and 
noise as a playful pup in a poultry-yard. 

The Catholics of those times, as of our own, were not 
much given to such contentions. They were satisfied to 
learn, from the proper authorities, the truths of the faith, 
practice them, and bring up their children in the hope of 
immortality. Such mountebanks as Proculus, were not 
heeded, for they well knew that notoriety was what he 
mostly desired ; and it would only be adding fuel to the 
flame, to have noticed him. He kept on, until finally, he 
ran against our friend Caius, and that was just where he 
made his greatest mistake. Caius disputed with the heretic, 
and so thoroughly demolished him, that he took the gallop- 
ing consumption and shied off, in obscurity, to the Lethean 
shores. 

Though, as a general rule, the spirit of contention with 
heretics and infidels should not be introduced into, nor en- 
couraged in the Church ; yet, under proper auspices, good 
may, and frequently does, result from such passages at arms ; 
provided Christian charity is observed by the contending 
parties, and there be, on the side of error, good faith in him 
who champions it. 

Many of the ancient Fathers of the Church, such as Ori- 
gen, Tertullian, Augustine, and others, were controver- 
sialists, and, in modern times, we have such men as Bossuet, 



ALETHATIRION. 



223 



Milner, Doyle, Hughes, and Purceel, who, both orally 
and in writing, have drawn the sword of the spirit with 
success. 

As to the laity, in a country like this, where, like the 
rank and file of soldiers, on the field of battle, they have to 
go into the thick of the fight, their duty is clear enough, 
and may be expressed as follows : 

First of all, take in a supply of ammunition — by the 
word, we mean here a knowledge of the truths of the faith, 
history of the Church, etc. Fire and throw shells right and 
left into the enemy's ranks — keep cool — all must be done 
in Christian charity — we conquer but to save. Some of 
your bails will miss the mark, some of the shells will not 
explode at once, but they will after a time ; keep on using 
your ammunition ; it only costs you a trifle, and the supply 
at headquarters is immense. It may never, on earth, be 
granted you to see the amount of damage you have done 
the cause of error, nor the service you have rendered the 
cause of truth. This knowledge will come only aften you 
have fought your last battle. 

The writer of this has had the pleasure of introducing 
into the true fold upwards of twenty persons, adults, and 
he can state it as his firm belief and conviction, that each 
and every one of these was first brought into the way of 
investigation by the words, or by the example, of a member 
of the laity. 

We have been led into the foregoing reflections by the 
character of the man under consideration. Now, in conclu- 
sion, we will see how he bears testimony to the fact that St. 
Peter came to Eome. Eusebius tells us, in book vi, chap- 
ter 20, that he had, himself, read the dispute between Caius 
and Proculus ; and in book ii, chapter 25, he makes use 
of the following words : 

"Caius. a certain Catholic man who lived at the time that Zepheri- 
nus was bishop of Rome, in that book, which he wrote against Pro- 
culus, the patron of the sect called Cataphrigians, in disputing about 
the place where the bodies of the aforesaid Apostles, Peter and Paul 



224 



ALETHAURION. 



are buried, says : 4 1 can, indeed, show you trophies, lor whether you 
should he pleased to go to the Vatican hill, or along the read to Ostia, 
you will tin d the trophies of them who founded that Church, 1 viz: the 
Roman Church." 

The trophies spoken of in the quotation, mean the tombs 
of the Apostles, Peter and Paul. St. Peter was cruci- 
fied on the Janiculum, and St. Paul beheaded at a place 
called the Three Fountains. But their bodies were not 
interred where they had suffered. The one was taken to 
the foot of the Vatican, and buried where the Church of St. 
Peter now stands. The remains of the other were brought 
from the Three Fountains, to a point about four miles closer/ 
to the city, and buried where St. Paul's may be seen at the 
present day This testimony of Caius is as explicit on the 
subject as need be desired. In disputing with an heretic he 
points to public monuments, and to facts that the heretics 
could not deny. 

Dioxysius will be our next. 



CHAPTEE LII. 

BACCHUS. 

Before the coming of Christ, idolatry was practiced by 
all the nations of the earth, except the Jews. This often 
took the shape of hero worship. Men, who had distin- 
guished themselves in war, or by the invention of some 
useful art, after having received the praises of their co- 
temporaries during life, came to be regarded, after some 
generations, as entirely superior beings, and worthy of di- 
vine homage. Had the coming of the Saviour been delayed 
by, say two thousand years, who knows but some of us 
might now be engaged in worshiping Ollam, Fodlah, or 
Fuan MacOuil, instead of the one true and living God. 

He, whose name stands at the head of this chapter, in 
all probability, belongs to the class of men of whom we 



ALETHAURION. 



225 



are speaking. As regards his real history, little or nothing 
is known. 

Some think he was the same as Sesostrius, (Rhmasas II,) 
the celebrated E^ytian kin£>% who flourished about thirteen 
hundred years before Christ, and conquered India, with a 
great part of the then known world. There are even not 
wanting those who think that the original Bacchus w r as no 
other than Noah himself. As to who Bacchus really was, 
is one of those deep questions, to the solution of which no 
one outside of an Indian Brahmin, or a Dutch philosopher, 
need approach. 

To confine ourselves to probabilities, we would say that 
he was some man who lived about the beginning of the 
heroic age of Greece, and, having acquired skill in agricul- 
ture, and in the treatment of the vine, he disclosed to his 
semi-barbarous countrymen what a power of fun and jollity 
there is in the juice of the grape. He thus rendered his 
name immortal, and in the estimation of his fellow barba- 
rians, secured a place among the gods. Bacchus was wor- 
shiped among the ancients w T ith a devotion fully equal to the 
honor** he receives in modern times. 

His feasts, celebrated at Mounts Cithaeron, and Parnassus, 
in Greece, were for the women alone, who, on such occa- 
sions, ran wild through the mountains, dressed as they had 
come from the hands of their maker. Should any man 
attempt to intrude, his life paid the forfeit of his fool hardi- 
ness, or curiosity, as the case might be. This is, probably, 
the first example we have in history of a woman's rights 
party. 

The place, however, at which the rites of Bacchus were 
carried out fully, with all their developments and ramifica- 
tions, w T as the town of Nyssa, in Asia Minor, and, from 
this circumstance he received the name of Dionysius, or 
god of Nyssa. 

The excesses indulged in, during these Bacchanalia, are 



226 



ALETHAUEION. 



said to have been ridiculous, even immoral beyond descrip- 
tion. People may talk, nowadays, of the irregularities of 
a Methodist camp-meeting, but Christianity, even in its 
lowest phases, has nothing to account for, in comparison 
with the depravity of ancient Paganism. Not only the 
slaves and debased portion of the community took part in 
these orgies, but even men, otherwise possessed of enlight- 
ened views, thought it no disgrace to throw themselves com- 
pletely away on such occasions. 

The historian of Alexander the great, relates how that 
renowned warrior, on his march back from India, had built 
an immense chariot, or rather platform on wheels, on top 
of wmich,in imitation of Bacchus, he caroused and drank, 
until many of his officers thought he had completely lost his 
senses. 

If some of those infidels of the present day, who affect 
to admire Paganism, couid only get it back in its simon 
purity, for a time, may be we would hear no more of their 
whining about Christianity interfering with the progress and 
development of the race. 

In due time the rites of Bacchus were introduced into 
Rome ; and, of course, readily adopted. Like the Brook- 
lyn and Chicago sinners, who flocked to hear Moody and 
Sankey, and affected, hypocritically, a conversion from their 
evil ways, the Pagan Roman did not require much forcing 
to make him believe that Bacchus was a god deserving of 
honor. But like the preaching and singing of the two 
worthies alluded to, results did not justify expectations, 
and, consequently, in the year 146 B. C, the Roman sen- 
ate, by a solemn decree, which remains extant to this day, 
abolished the Bacchanalian rites and orgies. 

The Saturnalia, or capers, in honor of the god Saturn, 
took their place ; and these, stripped of every objectionable 
feature by Christianity, remain, strange to say, even until 
now. They go under the name of the Carnival, during 
which, every one in Rome, who has a spark of life in him, 



ALETHAUEION 



227 



is supposed to forget dull care, and enjoy himself hugely 
for a few days — within the precepts of the gospel, however. 

In the year 1724, an Englishman, named Middleton, 
visited Rome during the Carnival ; and while passing along 
the Corso, was pelted, like all the others, with confetti, 
until he looked like a miller's boy. Having had on at the 
time, a beaver hat and a black cut-away coat, and having 
had, moreover, some aspirations for the mitre, among the 
Anglicans, he did not relish such work at all. By way of 
reprisal, and to vindicate outraged dignity, he conceived the 
idea of writing a book against such abominations, and he 
wrote it. This he called a Letter from Rome. In it he 
proved, to his own sntisfation, that the religion of Rome, in 
his day, was derived from Paganism. What a mystery 
human nature is, and how very few there are who speak or 
act from pure principle ? Had we the means of examining 
the motives of men, which the Omniscient has, how often 
would we not find a dirty blotch where the uninitiated can 
see naught but the color of the rose ! If Middletox had 
not been pelted with the confetti, maybe he would have seen 
Rome, and its religion, through differently colored glasses. 

We are all ruined by cheap Chinese labor, as the Califor- 
nia gambler said, when he was outwitted, and desired to 
recover, by main force, what he was unable to retain by 
his skill. No doubt, the animosity that men sometimes 
manifest towards those who differ with them, whether in 
politics or religion, may often, if not always, be traced up 
to considerations that are entirely personal. 

W T e knew a Scotchman who hated all Welshmen gener- 
ally — on principle — because they were so mean. But the 
true reason for his dislike to the class alluded to, was the 
fact that, in an encounter with one, he had come out minus 
a thumb. On the same principle you will sometimes find 
lazy drones of men, tramps, complaining that they can get 
nothing to do because of their religion or nationality, when 



228 



ALETHAURION. 



it is their own lack of energy, or may be their disposition 
to be tricky and unreliable, that makes them failures. 

God surrounds virtue in the next life with glory ; energy 
with purple in this, and sloth with rags in both. 

Thus far we have spoken of Bacchus. In our next we 
will take his other name of Dionysius, make some com- 
ments on the theory of Mr. Middletox, and show how a 
Dioxysius bears testimony to the fact that St. Petee came 
to Kome. 



CHAPTER LIII. 



DIONYSIUS. 

In the last chapter we spoke, incidentally, of a cockney 
preacher named Middletox, who visited Rome in 1724, and 
discovered that the Romans of that day had got their reli- 
gion from their pagan ancestors. Before giving the testi- 
mony of Dioxysius to the fact that Peter came to the city 
of the Seven Hills, a word or two about this cockney. His 
book is leveled against the honor and veneration given to 
the saints by the Catholic Church. 

Hence, to get at him, we must clear away the weeds, then 
we can seize him and decapitate, at our leisure. Let us 
first consider what ivorship is. 

Worship may be defined as the honor which is given to 
God, or to a creature, with an eye to and out of respect for 
God. It is of two kinds, the first and highest called by 
writers on theology, Latvia, is that given to God alone. 

The second and inferior, is called Dulia, and is precisely 
that worship which, in the Catholic Church, is given to the 
saints and angels, this distinction is, or ought to be, clear 
enough for any one who is not a registered lunatic or born 
idiot. Yet, there are preachers, like Middletox, who get 
this matter, even to this day, hopelessly mixed. They will 



ALETHAURION. 



229 



have it that we honor the saints with the same worship we 
give the Almighty. 

We Catholics are sometimes astonished that heretics are 
so slow in comprehending things that are so plain to us. No 
doubt some of them speak and write in bad faith. That is, 
they make assertions they know to be untrue. But when 
we speak of the bulk of heretics, it would scarcely do to put 
them all under the heading of liars. There are many who 
though not professing the true faith, have yet some good 
qualities who are, according to our way of speaking, good 
citizens and acceptable acquaintances. 

A study of the cause of the religious obtuseness of such, 
requires that we go a little beyond the surface into what 
is called human nature. In the first place, let it be under- 
stood, that he who is the slave of any particular vice, has 
his intellect clouded to a corresponding degree, as regards 
the contrary virtue. 

The avaricious man can, with difficulty, find an object, 
worthy of his liberality ; and the miseries of the poor he 
attributes to their own laziness, lack of energy, or improvi- 
dence. His intellect is clouded, and his will is not moved 
to charitable deeds when the widow and the orphan hold 
forth their hands. The libertine hates priests, monks and 
nuns, because his intellect is befogged by sensual indul- 
gence . 

Thus, also, it is with heretics, as regards the truths of our 
holy faith. Though, in mere temporal matters they may 
be, and frequently are very acute ; in spiritual things, the 
profession or error to which they are accustomed, obnubi- 
lates the intellect and they become veritable blockheads. 

Hence, it happens, when we endeavor to explain things 
that are so clear to ourselves, we are surprised at their 
obtuseness. 

As regards the first kind of worship, which is given to 
God alone there can be no difference between us. But on 
the second, we are considerably at variance. The question 



230 



ALETHAUEION. 



resolves itself into this : Is it lawful or useful to honor 
and invoke the saints ? 

Vigilantius, a heretic of the fifth century, was the first 
to deny it, and he was handsomely snuffed out by St. Je- 
rome. Faustus, another of the same breed, got his dose 
from the hands of Dr. Austin, bishop of Hippo. 

And our modern theologians have been doctoring Luther, 
Beausobore, Middleton, Gibbon and others, for some 
years past, with fair prospects of an early, and a splendid 
funeral. 

It is not wrong for men to honor the saints, because God 
himself has done and does so. John xiv, 23. It is useful 
to invoke their intercession, because St. Paul did so, even 
in the case of saints not yet confirmed in glory. Koman 
xv, 30. 

Our friend Middleton discovered during his stay in the 
Eternal City, that the Pantheon, built by Marcus Agrippa, 
as a receptacle for all the gods, has lost its statues of 
Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Mars, Venus, Priapus, and, in 
their stead, are those of our Lord, his blessed Mother, and 
the saints. 

Hence, he came to the conclusion that the Blessed Virgin 
and the saints are now worshipped in Rome, as Juno, Mars, 
Apollo, etc., were then honored and adored. Now there 
is some truth, if not in the theory, at least in the facts of 
Mr. Middleton. It is true that the Pantheon, which was 
formerly a pagan temple, is now a Christian Church. The 
niches w T here once stood the statues of the gods of Rome, 
are now filled with those of Christian heroes. 

On the spot where stood the temple of Minerva, in pagan 
times, there is now a church in honor of the Blessed Virgin. 
The Coliseum, where gladiators fought with w r ild beasts 
and stabbed one another for the amusement of the heathen, 
is now sacred to the memory of the Christian martyrs. 
On top of Monte Cavo where stood the celebrated temple 
of Jupiter, there is now a Passionist monastery. 



ALETHAURION. 



231 



The Catholic religion is not destructive except of evil. 
We storm the strongholds of Satan, drive him out, purify 
what he has defiled, and hold it as a trophy. It is in such 
ways, that Rome honors error. 

The house yet stands on Sycamore street, Cincinnati, 
where the illustrious Archbishop disputed with and van- 
quished the heresiarch Campbell. It was then a Camp- 
bellite meeting house, now it is a Christian Church. When 
the din of battle ceases, and the smoke is blown away, the 
Catholic Church is invariably found mistress of the situa- 
tion. Thus it ought to be, and it is thus. 

The Romans of the present day do certainly imitate their 
pagan ancestors in some particulars. For example : when 
Romulus, the founder of the city, was pressed in a battle, 
on the Palatine, he prayed to the unknown God for 
strength to overcome his foes. Pius IX, also prays that 
iniquity may not flourish and that the enemies of religion 
may not succeed. 

The ancient pagan Roman had a dread to call any of his 
gods to witness a lie ; and the modern Catholic Roman has 
the same awe of a* false oath. Thus it will be found that, 
in some things, the religion of the modern Roman is de- 
rived from his pagan ancestors. Or rather let us put it in 
a clearer way for you, friend Middleton. 

The religion of the modern Roman, is the development 
Christ gave to that natural law inscribed upon the heart of 
man from the beginning. Another strong evidence of the 
fact that the Catholic religion is derived from paganism 
consists in this, that many saints in the calendar have 
names that originally belonged to the gods and goddesses, 
demigods, and the heroes of heathenism. Logic again. 

We have an illustration of this in the case of him whose 
name stands at the head of this chapter — Dionysius. Not- 
withstanding his bad name, however, he became a bishop, 
and a good one. We may now introduce him more fully, 



232 



ALETHAURION. 



as one of those ancient writers who bear testimony to the 
fact that Peter came to Borne. 

Dionysius was made bishop of Corinth about the year 
170, and he had the reputation of being one of the most 
learned men of his day. He wrote eight epistles to differ- 
ent churches, all of which, with the exception of a few 
fragments, have been lost. The fragments we quote is 
found in book ii, c. 25, of Eusebius' Church History. It 
is from his letter to the Romans, and runs thus : 

"For both of them, SS. Peter and Paul, having entered our city of 
Corinth, and having scattered here the seed of the gospel, taught us. 
Then they went together to Italy, and having likewise instructed you, 
(Romans), both suffered martyrdom at the same time. These things 
have I mentioned, that the memory of the fact may become better and 
better established/' 

This quotation explains itself. Dioxysius, who had an 
excellent opportunity of knowing the facts in the case, 
states that Peter and Paul, having passed through Corinth, 
went to Rome, where both were put to death. 

What Irexeus says will form the groundwork for our 
next. 



CHAPTER LIV. 



IREXEUS. 

Irexeus was bishop of Lyons, and suffered martyrdom 
for the faith in the year 202. In youth, he was a disciple 
of Polycarp, who was a disciple of St. Johx the Evange- 
list. He was one of those grand old heroes of the earlv 
Church, worthy successor of the Apostles in zeal ; a sentinel 
on the watch towers of Zion, whose light still shines 
through the dim vista of ages, and whose written word is 
still a solace to the heart, even though the hand that penned 
it has long sin^e moldered to dust. 

Great was his reputation for piety and learning, among 
his cotemporaries ; but it is to be regretted that of his works 



ALETHAUEION. 



233 



only the treatise Against Heresies, has come down to us. 
The rest of his writings did not keep up with Time, and are 
now undiscoverable in the mazes of the past. That good- 
natured Eotterdammer, Erasmus, who is said to have laid 
the egg out of which Luther hatched the reformation, in 
his preface to the works of Irene us, says : 

" They breathe the primitive vigor of the gospel. * The phases show 
a heart prepared for martyrdom, for the martyrs have a certain strong, 
masculine and fearless way of speaking.' * 

Our Rotterdam friend expresses here an idea which he 
certainly did not carry out himself, for he had only the 
heart of a sparrow. 

All those who have ever done the Christian cause a real 
service, from the time of the Saviour to our own, have car- 
ried in their breasts hearts prepared for martyrdom. He 
who is ready to die for the faith is generally thinking about 
something else besides what he shall eat, or wherewith he 
shall be clothed ; which is, unfortunately, getting to be one 
of the great problems of our day, and one of the main draw- 
backs to the spread of the gospel. It is true, as Erasmus 
says, that the martyrs have a way of speaking, peculiar to 
themselves. 

The Roman emperors often felt this, and their wrath was 
more and more enkindled thereby. When the pagan gladia- 
tors appeared in the ampitheater, they marched before the 
emperor, waved their swords in the air, and saluted him 
with the words, Ave Cesar : Morituri te Sahitamus. They 
hoped by this piece of flattery to gain his good will, even 
though they were not long to enjoy it. 

The Christian martyrs gave his majesty another kind of 
salutation, calculated to make him feel he was not as great a 
being "as he ima°;ined : Tu ouidem scelestissime in Presenti 
vita nosperdis: Sed Rex mundi, Cristus, defunctos nospro 
suis legibus in ceternce vitce resurrectione suscitahit. 

It is thus, also, that the great men of every age of the 
Church spoke and acted towards those who opposed Christ 



234 



ALETHAURION. 



and His gospel. They expected no quarter from the world, 
and they asked for none. They did not flatter the powerful 
in order to gain their protection. 

There are few things more unbecoming, and as fruitless 
withal, as to see a man who professes the true faith hob- 
nobbing with some infidel or heretical person in power, under 
pretence of benefiting the Church. The Church never has 
been benefited and never will be by men of that brand. The 
writer, some years ago, came across one of the kind. 

On being asked why he did not go to church regularly on 
Sundays, and above all, why he did not go to confession 
and communion, it being the paschal time, he replied : "I 
believe the course I am pursuing is more advantageous to 
the Church in this place than if I should become a practical 
Catholic. For being half and half I gain the good will of 
the Protestants, by showing them we are not prejudiced ; 
and I shall continue to believe, of course, that the old amy 
is the right one and the only one." 

" Mr. Blank," we replied, "if you have spoken out your 
mind, you are laboring under a delusion, and you are moreover 
an enemy to every Protestant that gets acquainted with you." 

" How so," said he. 

"It is thus : As you circulate among unbelievers, they have 
an opportunity of studying you, and in doing so, they no 
doubt imagine they are gaining true notions concerning the 
Catholic Church. Now the truth is, you poison the atmos- 
phere in which you move, for you show yourself insincere. 
You make them believe that Catholics are like themselves, 
unsettled in their opinions. The laborer, who, though he has 
to work hard, will yet abstain from meat one day out of each 
week, and will ride several miles over bad roads to hear mass 
on Sundays in winter, is by that alone, giving a proof of 
his sincerity, and one word from him would weigh more 
with a dying heretic than a peck of sermons from such as 
you. Don't try to excuse the practices of the Catholic 
Church, for they need none. Explain them as far as you 



ALETHAURION. 



235 



can, but do not for a moment imagine that yon could- 
remodel the Saviour's handiwork with any degree of profit 
to the human race. Moreover, even though you should 
succeed in converting all the heretics in creation, of what 
utility would that be to you, if you became a reprobate 
yourself." 

It cannot be said that we have in the Catholic Church, 
even at the present day, a great many of the class of men 
of which we are speaking, but, the few we have, do an 
injury to the cause they pretend to advocate. 

There is to be no compromise with error. Truth and 
falsehood will not form a chemical compound. It will be 
at best only a mechanical mixture. 

The success of some politicians, that are Catholics only 
in name, also hinders the propagation of sound principles 
among the youth of the rising generation. When one of 
the latter sees Mr. Brown falling down before the Beast, 
and getting office, on account of his liberal views, or apos- 
tacy, as you may please to call it, he thinks he must do the 
same thins: in order to have the like success. " All these 
things will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me," 
said Satan to the Saviour. He does not promise the major- 
ity of politicians much, and even that little they do not 
always get. 

It is refreshing to turn away from such people to contem- 
plate a truly sincere man — Ireneus, who, as our Dutch 
friend says, spoke like a man who did not fear death. Let 
us see what he has had to say about the coming of Peter 
to Rome. In book iii, Against Heresies, he uses the follow- 
ing words : 

"Since it would be very tedious, in a volume of this kind, to enumerate 
the successions in all the Church, we may confine ourselves to that of the 
Church of Rome, which is the most ancient and best known; it having 
been founded and constituted by the most glorious Apostles, Peter and 
Paul. That Church, by its succession of bishops to cur own times, pre- 
serves the tradition received from the Apostles, and the faith which they 
announced to men. Through her we confound all our enemies." 



236 



ALETHAURION. 



Let it be observed here that Ireneus not only bears wit- 
ness to the fact that Peter and Paul founded the Church 
in Eome, and consequently came there : but he also makes 
use of the very same argument that we do, even at this day, 
against the heretics. 

When we show them a line of Bishops going up without 
interruption from Pius IX to Peter, the conclusion is irri- 
sistibly forced on them that the Catholic Church of the 
present day is the one which Christ founded. This argu- 
ment is a clincher. It is an elephant that walks through all 
their spider-webs. 

In our next we will take a stroll about the city of Eome 
itself and examine the foot-prints that Peter has left there. 



CHAPTER LV. 



FOOTPRINTS. 

We are now approaching the close of tha*t question we 
have been discussing for a time past — the coming of Peter 
to Rome. Let none of our readers imagine we have given 
all, or even any considerable part, of what writers have said 
on the subject . Our object has not been to exhibit a chain of 
authors from the days of the Apostles to our own, which 
we could readily do, if there were any occasion or necessity. 
We desired rather to confine ourselves to the most ancient 
and reliable. Consequently, we do not deem it expedient 
to bring to notice the testimony of any who lived at a later 
period than the close of the second century. The Fathers 
of the Church, and others who nourished after, did nothing 
more than copy from those whose names we have given. 
Let the reader feel assured then, that on the coming of 
Peter to Rome he has received nothing at second hand, 
and that nothing else in the way of coeval, or quasi-coeval 
authority, can be produced on the subject. 



ALETHAUEION. 



237 



Let us now turn attention to another line of argument : 
Footprints we may call them. Longfellow once said: 

" Lives of great men all remind us 
We can make our lives sublime, 
And departing, leave behind us 
Footprints on the sands of time." 

Wherever there has been a real genius, you will find evi- 
dences of his existence. One cannot live lon^ in Paris and 
remain ignorant that, at some former period, a man named 
Bonapaete honored the city with his presence. 

It would be difficult for a foreigner to live in this country 
for a great while, and not learn something about Wash- 
ington. He could not but notice the pictures on furniture 
wagons, and on postage stamps, before and after licking 
them. Thus it is that srreat men leave after them those 
footprints and head-marks of which the poet speaks. 

With these observations let us proceed. Petee was not 
what one might call a born genius ; and had he not been 
called by the Saviour, it is not likely we would know any 
more about him now, than we do of the grand-mother-in- 
law of Tecumseh. But from the time he pr>t orders to feed 
the lambs and sheep of the flock, he also received those 
mental endowments that constitute genius of the highest 
order. After that, when he spoke, people listened, and 
when he put down his foot, he left a mark. One of these 
is visible in the liturgy of the Roman Church, where belief 
is expressed in the fact that he came to the city, in accord- 
ance with the maxim of St. Augustine, "forma or audi est 
forma credendi^ the manner of praying is the manner of 
believing. 

Let us see more particularly in what these proofs from 
the liturgy consist. First of all let it be remembered that 
we celebrate in the universal Church a feast in honor of the 
Chair of St. Petee. This is of very ancient date, so much 
so that no one knows when it began. Of its antiquity we 
have an excellent proof in the immense number of bowls 



238 



ALETHAURION . 



and vases found in the catacombs and bearing the images 
of Sts. Peter and Paul. The renowned archaeologist, De 
Rossi, says that the immense number of such vessels can- 
not be explained otherwise than by admitting that the 
Christians, while yet in the catacombs, instituted festival 
days in honor of the Prince of the Apostles. As we keep 
the Fourth of July in honor of our deliverance from British 
tyranny, so did the Romans observe the twenty-ninth of 
June, as the day on which occurred the death of their great 
Apostle, who first preached to them the glad tidings of 
redemption, and of deliverance from the tyranny of Sa- 
tan. 

This theory receives further support from what we read 
in epistle xxxi of St. Jerome, which is to Eustachius. It 
appears that abuses had crept into these celebrations, and 
St. Jerome, finds fault with the people for imagining they 
were honoring a martyr by gluttony, who did himself honor 
God by prayer and fasting.. 

St. Augustine, in his narrative on the 59th psalm, speaks 

of those same abuses on the feast day of St. Peter, in the 

following words : 

u Drunkards now persecute the martyrs with flowing bowls as the 
furious Pagans and Jews formerly did with stones.'* 

The other two feast days that prove St. Peter came to 
Rome, are those observed on the eighteenth of January and 
on the first of August. 

The festival of the Pasch, among the Jews, is not a more 
convincing proof of the truth of what we read in Exodus, 
than are those feast days, in honor of Peter, of the truth 
of all the Romans say about his visit and stay in their city. 

We will now take some proofs from archaeology. On the 
Aventine, one of the seven hills of Rome, there is a Church 
in honor of St. Prisca, Virgin Martyr, said to have been 
the first after St. Stephen. 

St. Peter baptized her, and the very urn in which this 
was done is still kept in the crypt of the Church, and may 



ALETHAURIOX. 



239 



be seen to this day. What do you, Baptists and Campbell- 
ites, think of that? Will you still continue to wade the 
creeks and horse ponds? Will you persist in endangering 
the lives of boys and old women, by cutting the ice and 
sticking them in ? 

If from the Aventine we go to the Viminal, we will find 
another of the fisherman's imprints. We speak of the 
Church of St. Prudextiaxa. When Peter came to Eome, 
about the year 44 of our era, he first remained in the Jew- 
ish quarter. But, having converted Pudexs, a senator, with 
his mother, two sons and two daughters, one of whom was 
called Prudextiaxa, he was invited after that to live with 
the senator himself, which he did. 

The Church we are speaking of stands now where stood 
the senatorial mansion in question. Not only did Pudexs 
receive the Apostle into his house ; he went so far as to 
give up to him his own ciirule, or senatorial chair — which 
identical chair has been preserved to this day, and is now 
kept in the bronze case back of the high altar in St. Peter's 
Church. Some few years ago it was taken out and exposed 
to the veneration of the faithful ; on which occasion the 
writer had the pleasure of gazing upon the interesting relic, 
an heirloom from Pudexs to Peter, and from Peter to 
Pius. 

The chair has about it all the marks of authenticity. It 
is of solid oak, light brown in color ; is an arm-chair, with 
a straight got hie back. It may have been at one time 
regarded as a fine piece of workmanship, but it would 
scarcely take the prize now. Around the sides are repre- 
sented, in gold and ivory, the twelve labors of Hercules, 
and these engravings are said by judges to be most excel- 
lent of their kind. All which show that the chair belongs 
to a period prior to the decline of art in the city. 

In our next we will pursue this same subject a little 
farther. 



240 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER LVI. 



TRACKS. 

Chapter Iv found us examining some of the footprints left 
after him by St. Peter, in the city of the Caesars, which 
length of time is not likely to efface. 

Great and good men leave after them marks of their ex- 
istence that posterity hold dear, because they are flattering 
to our race. Fools and knaves make prints in the mud that 
succeeding generations do not try to preserve, for they 
are reminders of the lower and baser elements of human 
nature. 

It is for this reason that even the prison of an Apostle 
survives, while the palace of a Ca?sar is allowed to crumble. 

Let us proceed. As one passes down the Capoline Hill 
to the Roman Forum, he sees at his left, where the first 
street intersects the one he is on, a two story house .that, 
taken externally, does not appear to differ much from others 
in the neighborhood. 

But that corner lot has a history of its own ; the recital of 
which would make Captain Jack shudder, or Sitting Bull 
stand up and bellow. 

At this point, in fact, is to be found the far-famed Mamer- 
tine prison. It was the first ever built in Rome, and one 
might add, the best, if the object of a jail be to render the 
prisoners miserable, and cut off all hope of slipping out un- 
awares. The portion above ground is used as a chapel, but 
no stretch of the imagination can ever make out of the sub- 
terranean part anything other than what it is, and was in- 
tended to be — a dismal dungeon. 

It appears to be about twenty feet square at the bottom . 
The side walls are of massive stones, well dressed and bedded 
in cement. It has an arched ceiling also of cut rock. And 



ALETHAUKION. 



241 



it is said that, in ancient times, the only entrance to it was 
by a round hole at the top, some three feet in diameter. 
Through this opening the prisoners were let down, some 
times With a rope ; more frequently by the force of gravity. 
Their food was also lowered through the aperture in ques- 
tion. Once that a prisoner was in this dismal abode he was 
there for good, until his dead body was taken out to be 
thrown into the Tiber, or ignominiously buried. 

There is now a stairway along the side, by which one may 
enter. The Mamertine prison, during the palmy days of 
Rome, was a place of considerable importance, politically 
speaking. No mere common thieves nor cut-throats were 
allowed to experience its 'amenities, but only captive kings, 
princes and satraps. Prefects, also, of distant provinces who 
had abused their power, and through avarice or folly, had 
plundered, or allowed others to plunder, the people over 
whom they ruled, got their dose in the Mamertine. 

Those governors, accused of lesser offenses, on being 
called to Rome to answer for their conduct, were allowed to 
go at large through the city, and to even give entertainments 
to senators and other leading men whose intercession mi<rht 
be valuable. Their accusers also, sometimes sub-prefects 
or other small fry, had the run of the great metropolis ; 
though the officials kept an eye on the latter, and reported 
how they conducted themselves. The Mamertine was not 
for this class of offenders. Yet neither was their stay in 
the Eternal Citv one of delights. For the victim and his 
accusers awaited the trial day, with fear and trembling. 
And when, at last, it came, the usual result was that the 
prefect, after having received a solemn clouting, figuratively 
speaking, was warned to do better for the future, and sent 
back to his province. The accusers were also, in most cases, 
reinstated. But instead of cuffs they got kicks ; and, hav- 
ing been informed that obedience to authority was one of 
the fundamental laws of the Republic, were dismissed with 
some words of advice and contempt. 



242 



ALETHAURION. 



Thus did Pagan Rome teach its officials, not to quarrel 
with one another about trifles, but to go vera according to 
justice and the law. 

It is true when a prefect, or governor, was found entire- 
ly incompetent to fill his position, or evidently avaricious 
and unjust, he was at once deposed, without further ado, and 
lodged in the Mamertine ; this the more readily, if his 
accuser was found to have had a clean record. 

The occasion when the Mamertine figured most conspicu- 
ously was on a triumphal day. The victorious general, his 
face painted with vermillion, and a crown of laurel on his 
brow, was borne in a chariot at the head of his soldiers, along 
the sacred way, which leads to the capitol. The kings and 
princes whom he had overcome were dragged along in 
chains at his chariot wheels ; their waitings and sobs ren- 
dered inaudible by the shouts of the soldiery and the jeers 
of the rabble. 

When the cavalcade had got to the foot of the hill,, the 
captives were detached from the car, and taken to the prison 
only a few paces distant to the right. Here they remained 
uncertain of their fate until the conquerer had ascended the 
hill and stood within the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. 
Then, at his word, the Wretches were either at once dis- 
patched or left to perish more miserably by starvation in 
the darkness and filth of the Mamertine. 

Jugurtha, the valiant king of Numidia, who to gain a 
crown, murdered both his nephews, and to retain it warred 
many years with the Romans, at last shuffled off the coil in 
this dreary prison, after a fast of six days duration, imposed 
not by himself, but by his merciless conquorers. 

Here, also, Lentulus and Cethegus, the accomplices of 
Cataline, were permanently cured of their ambition by the 
hangman's knot. 

It was in this same Mamertine dungeon that both Peter 
and Paul were destined some time before their martyrdom 
for the faith. By their preaching and saintly lives they had 



ALETHAURIOX. 



243 



drawn thousands from the worship of Venus, of Mercury, 
and of Mars to venerate Christianity and to adore the Cru- 
cified. Hence, they were not looked upon as common mal- 
efactors, but rather as enemies of Rome, whose gods they 
had set at naught ; so that a little experience in the Mamer- 
tine was thought advisable, in order to soften what the 
Pagans took for obstinancy, before proceeding to extreme 
measures. 

Here Peter converted the centurion or jailer, and that he 
might have water with which to baptize him, caused the ele- 
ment to spring up through the prison floor, and there the 
spring remains to this day. We have seen it, and drank of 
its waters. The marble column, to which the Apostles was 
chained, is also there, bridging over the gap of ages. 

Lon«- asT) the Mamertine would have shared the fate of 
most of the other proud monuments of Pagan Rome, but 
the footprint of Peter has preserved it. And it, too, will 
remain a monument, to attest to future generations, as it 
does to us, the fact that he visited the great city. 

In our next we will continue the same subject. 



CHAPTER LVII. 



LANDMARKS. 

On the outskirts of Rome, to the southwest, stands the 
Janiculum. It is not one of the original seven hills, so 
famed in history, though it is higher than they ever were. 
The tourist who visits modern Rome, finds it a little difficult 
to locate the latter, for the debris of ages has filled up the 
valleys. Even the Tarpeian Rock is now covered with 
houses, and a fall from it would be no more poetical than 
a drop from any garret window. But the Janiculum now, 
as in days gone by, still lifts its head above the grey old 
city. Virgil tells us that Janus, the first king of Italy, 



244 



ALETHAURION . 



lived on top of it, and dying, left there his name and his 
bones. 

As it appears now, the hill has but little of its pristine 
severity. No trees nor undergrowth bar the way to its 
summit. On the contrary ; a beautiful road, due to the 
munificence of the present pontiff, gives easy access to 
where Janus formerly had his den, and a Church, in honor 
of St. Peter, now crowns the spot, and monks keep vigil 
where robbers made night hideous with their revelry. 

A few paces to the right is a small chapel, which the fin- 
ger of tradition points out as built over the spot where 
Peter, the Prince of the Apostles and first Pope, ended by 
a most glorious martyrdom, a life spent in the service of 
his Master. Like the Saviour, who was taken to the sum- 
mit of Calvary, in order that all might witness His 
sufferings, so the chief of His Apostles was made to ascend 
the rugged hights of the Janiculum, that Rome entire might 
see him die — the prelude, as was vainly thought, to the 
total extirpation of the Christian name. 

There, surrounded by his executioners, and by a chosen 
band of those warriors who had made the Roman eagles a 
terror to mankind, the aged Apostle had no favors to ask, 
and no tears to shed for the life he was soon to lose. The 
circumstances, however, recalled memories of other days. 

His own infidelity, in the house of Pilate, came to mind, 
with a vividness that caused the tears to flow in abundance. 
Even the stony hearts of those legionaries were moved to 
pity, and the opportunity was gladly embraced of asking 
him again to renounce Christ, and sacrifice to the gods of 
Rome. 

But his thoughts were on other things, and his silence 
only intensified expectation, for he did not heed the prof- 
fered clemency. It was not until he had professed his 
unworthiness to die, as his Master, with head aloft, that all 
hopes of release were abandoned , Then the spirit of the 
demon took possession of his executioners, and having 



ALETHAURION. 



245 



nailed his hands and feet to the cross, they raised him in 
the air with his head to the earth. 

A few more hours had passed — the labors of the fisher- 
man were ended, and his tears forever dried. His chair on 
earth became vacant, as he took his place with Stephen 
and others who had washed their robes white in the blood 
of the Lamb. 

With the present we bring to a conclusion the question 
of the coming of St. Peter to Rome. There are only a 
few, and indeed, as they appear to the writer, exceedingly 
weak objections that can be urged against what has been 
said. Thus, e. g., persons have attempted to show, from 
the Acts of the Apostles, that Peter could not have been 
in Borne, because it is stated that he was at Lydda, Joppa, 
Jerusalem, and some other places in Asia, at certain times, 
probably some six or eight altogether. 

Now, by the same kind of logic, it would be the easiest 
matter imaginable to prove that Archbishop Purcell was 
never in Cincinnati, or that Archbishop Spalding was never 
in Louisville. 

Another objection is found in the fact that Paul in his 
letter to the Romans, makes no mention of Peter. This 
is, at best, only a negative argument, and proves nothing. 
Many excellent reasons might be given why Paul made no 
mention of him ; one of which is that Peter might have 
been absent from the city at that particular time that Paul 
wrote to the Romans. Certainly, the fact that a man is 
bishop of a city does not oblige him to never stir 
outside of it. 

St. Paul will be our subject in the next chapter. 



246 



ALETHAUEION. 



CHAPTEE LVIII. 



SAUL. 

Saul, or St. Paul, as he is now called, was born of Jew- 
ish parents, in the city of Tarsus, in Cilicia, a province in 
the southeastern part of Asia Minor. 

The exact date of his birth has not been handed down ; 
but, from the fact that he was a youth (adolescens) at the 
time of Stephen's death, in which he had a hand, we may 
conclude that his advent into the world must have been 
some ten or a dozen years after that of the Saviour. 

He was of the tribe of Benjamin, and to him commenta- 
tors refer the . prophecy of Jacob, where he says, when 
about to die ; " Benjamin, a ravenous wolf in the morn- 
ing shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the 
spoil." 

His mind, from early youth, took a religious turn, nor 
was he content with being a simple believer ; he sought 
after the highest perfection. 

There was at that time among the Jews, a religious order, 
the members of which were famous far and near for their 
learning and piety. 

They were called Pharisees ; and, what there was of sol- 
emn godliness not to be found among them, was thought 
scarcely worth looking after. 

The origin of this blessed sect is vailed in obscurity. Some 
authors date its beginning from the time of Esdras, others 
bring it down even to the time of Schammai and Hillel ? 
two celebrated doctors of the law, who lived in the days of 
Herod. 

But, if credit is to be given to Josephus, and we see no 
reason for refusing it, in a matter of this kind, certain it is 
that the origin of the Pharisees dates further back than the 
time of Herod. 



ALETHAURION. 



247 



They were called Pharisees, from the Hebrew word 
pharez, which signifies separation, because in dignity, in 
sanctity, in manners and customs they held themselves aloof 
from the common herd. 

They also affected to lead lives of celibacy, fasted twice 
in the week, gave tithes beyond what the law prescribed, 
prayed at the corners of the streets, helped the poor under 
circumstances where public attention would be called to the 
act, and were continually harping on unimportant observan- 
ces, and at the same time neglecting the weightier works of 
the law. 

These same Pharisees we know, from the New Testament, 
to have been a set of consummate scoundrels, rendered for- 
midable by their perfect organization, as well as secrecy in 
dealing with outsiders. 

We must not imagine, however, that every one who 
joined them, was bad or viciously inclined. On the con- 
trary, so far as outward looks were concerned, they were 
pinks of perfection ; and it may have been that they had 
more applicants for admission than they chose to receive. 

A learned and fiery zealot, however, like Saul of Tarsus, 
could readily gain admittance into a society managed by a 
pack of unscrupulous and ambitious men, such as were the 
leaders among the Pharisees. 

They could put him at whatever required tact and courage 
to execute, advance him if it suited their purposes ; and, in 
case he turned out honest and conscientious, they could ex- 
pel him from the society, as one not possessed of the spirit 
of mortification and obedience. 

On reaching Jerusalem, there was added to Saul's natural 
impetuosity of character a new ingredient. 

The Christian religion was then beo-innin^ to take root in 
the Holy City, and those veteran enemies of the Saviour, 
the Scribes and Pharisees, found no difficulty in turning to 
account Saul's restless energy. 

The effects were at once apparent. Stephen, one of the 



248 



ALETHAUEIOX. 



seven deacons, innocent of soul, and of angelic appearance, 
was dragged outside of the walls and brutally murdered with 
stones. 

Saul was not yet satisfied ; he still ravaged the Church, 
and entering houses hauled away men and women and put 
them in prison. 

Not content with making things red hot in Jerusalem, he 
went to the high priest and asked for letters to the rulers of 
the synagogues in Damascus ; in order to capture as many 
there as possible and bring them back, bound hand and foot, 
to the holy Zion. 

The High Priest and Pharisees willingly gave the letters ; 
as much out of a desire to get rid of Saul himself as through 
hatred of the " Nazarenes." 

They feared that his too great zeal might lead to mischief ; 
to an investigation by the civil authorities, and that their 
own rascalities might thereby be brought to the surface. 

Hence, they sent him off, with an open blessing, and a se- 
cret wish that he might break his neck or get drowned be- 
fore returning. 

On the way, near Damascus, the Saviour appeared to him 
and changed his heart ; from a persecutor he became an 
Apostle, and a great one — as we shall see in a future chapter. 



CHAPTER LIX. 



ST. PAUL. 

We saw, in the last chapter, how Saul, the Pharisee, the 
Jewish zealot and persecutor, was miraculously converted 
to the Catholic Church ; of which he became such a shining 
light. The spot where this change took place is still pointed 
out to the wayfarer, as he approaches Damascus. 

The house of Judas, where he was visited by Ananias, is 
still to be seen in the same city ; though the apartment once 



ALETHAURION. 



249 



occupied by the Apostle, is now some ten or a dozen feet 
below the street. How wonderful, that a house, remark- 
able only for the fact, that it was the one in which Paul 
was baptized, should have been preserved to our day ; 
whereas, hundreds of others, then" in the city, have, one 
after another, gone to ruin. " The just man shall be in 
eternal remembrance," say the scriptures; and facts, like 
this, show that the prophecy is, to some extent, fulfilled 
even in this world. 

Damascus has, at the present day, a population of about 
one hundred and thirty thousand, and we may presume that 
it was equally as large, may be more so, in the days of St. 
Paul ; for where the Sultan's horse treads there grows no 
grass. 

There are no Protestants, of native growth, in it ; nor, 
in fact, in any of the oriental cities. 

Missionary societies, both in this country and in England, 
send preachers out there, but they make no impression on 
the native Catholic population ; and as to the conversion of 
a Turk, the average English speaking preacher has too much 
sense to risk his life in such an undertaking. 

Is it not astonishing, that heretics are not converted to 
the true faith, on visiting a city like Damascus? They read 
in the Acts of the Apostles, of how St. Paul, after his 
baptism, in the house of Judas, preached the gospel in the 
city, and, no doubt, converted many ; they know, or ought 
to, that, in the early ages, the faith grew and increased 
there, as elsewhere throughout the east ; and that the pres- 
ent Christian inhabitants are the lineal descendants of those 
to whom the Apostles preached. 

Now, when a heretic goes there, and finds no difference 
in belief, between the native Catholics of Damascus and 
those he has met at home, does it not require the quintes- 
sence of stupidity not to see the point? 

How comes it that those Catholics of Damascus believe 
exactly as we do here in America? Did we teach them? 



250 



ALETHAURION. 



No ; but they and we have received the faith from the same 
truthful source — from the Apostles ; and they, as well as 
ourselves, have kept pure and undefined, what was first 
taught ; therefore we believe alike. 

It is true, there are some of the natives in those ancient 
cities where the Apostles preached, who do not believe as 
we do, and still bear the name of Christians. Such are the 
Greek and Armenian schismatics, and others of kindred ilk. 
But we can tell the exact time when each took the 44 new 
departure ;" and we can name the men who were leaders in 
the movement. 

They have changed ; we still adhere to the old w T ay 
pointed out by the Apostles and by apostolic men. 

These ideas have been suggested by the very name of 
that old city of which- we are speaking. 

Let us return to our subject. We are told that, after he 
had seen our Saviour, he became physically blind, inso- 
much that he had to be led to the house already spoken of. 
There he remained three days, fasting and praying, but 
yet deprived of sight. At length Ananias, a disciple who 
lived in the city, having been forewarned in a vision, came, 
and having placed his hands on the head of Paul the scales 
dropped from his eyes and he saw, and standing up was 
baptized. 

Here it may be well to observe that the baptism given 
must have been either by aspersion or effusion. All the cir- 
cumstances lead to the conclusion. Let us go there in imag- 
ination. Here w^e are in a room, some sixteen or eighteen 
feet square ; St. Paul lies on a bed, unable to see ; Axaxlas 
enters, lays his hands on Paul, tells him that Christ had 
sent him there ; the scales drop from Paul's eyes ; he sees, 
stands upon the floor and is baptized. 

We must remember that in the houses of the Jews there 
were at the doors one or more water vessels for purposes of 
purification, and it was out of these in all probability 
that Axaxias took the water with which he administered 



ALETHAUKION. 



251 



the sacrament. It does not appear that St. Paul left the 
house, and it would be stretching the imagination too far 
to suppose that this poor Jew kept a hogshead of water 
always ready for his guests to practice swimming in. 

Yet, this is not a question of great importance, because, 
in the true Church the three methods of conferring baptism, 
viz : by sprinkling or aspersion, by pouring or effusion, and 
by dipping or immersion, are all recognized as valid and 
have been in use from the earliest ages. If we compare 
baptism to the death of the "Old Man*' in us, one can see 
that it makes little difference in what way such a death is 
brought about as the effect is all the same. 

When a man is dead, it is of no further importance to 
him nor to the community whether it was by arsenic, strych- 
nine, or by prusstc acid, or from the fang of a rattler he was 
taken off. 

Let it suffice for the present to say, that so far as those 
three methods are concerned the question hinges on the 
meaning to be given to the Greek word baptizo. By Pagan 
writers it is used to signify : 1 dip, 1 wash, I dye or color. 

Let us see in w T hich of these senses the Saviour and the 
Apostles used it. Take the words of the great commission 
and make the proper substitutions. Christ says to the 
Apostles : 

"Going forth, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."— [Matt, xxviii, 19. 

Now, put the word dipping instead of baptizing and see 

whether there be any connection between the external act 

and the chancre that is wrought in the soul. None what- 

ever. 

In the next place substitute for baptizing , the word wash- 
ing, and then the text reads thus : 6 'Going forth, teach all 
nations, ivashing them (of their sins), in the name of the 
Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." Here 
there is a connection between the external ablution and the 
internal washing of the soul from the filth of sin. 



252 



ALETHAURION. 



It would appear, then, that the Saviour and the Apostles 
used the word baptizo in the sense of to wash, and as washing 
can be done in any of the three ways, they are admitted as 
valid by the Catholic Church, provided no mistake is made 
in the form, and the minister has the proper intention. 

After Saul had thus got washed himself, he undertook, 
with his usual impetuosity and energy, to recommend the 
same to others. With what success we will see in a future 
chapter. 



CHAPTER LX. 



FLIGHT IX A BASKET. 

" The man that is in battle slain. 
Will never live to fight again ; 
But he that fights and runs away, 
May live to fight another day/' 

Thus spoke some great poet of the past ; and it will be 
readily admitted there is a deal of truth in his verse. 

A man who has had his head taken off by a bomb-shell 
will certainly not do much fighting after that event. In the 
second place, it is no less clear that when one has succeeded 
in legging it off, safe, from a battle-field, he may at some 
future time get over his fright, and be induced to try the 
foe once more. 

The great moral lesson, however, which the poet teaches 
us is this : That when we happen to be in a house that is fall- 
ing, and the owner will not allow us to prop it up, and 
make it wind proof for the future, it is better to leave, than 
stay and be crushed in the ruins. 

Such, also, must have been the sentiments of Paul, not 
many weeks after his baptism at Damascus. Having be- 
come convinced that Judaism had ceased to be the true re- 
ligion ; that its commission from above had expired ; and 



ALETHAURION. 



253 



that a new order of things had begun, he withdrew from the 
falling house, and devoted his energies to the spread of the 
gospel of Christ, and the building up of the Catholic 
Church. 

Just as soon as he had recovered strength enough, he ap- 
peared in the synagogues and openly maintained that Christ, 
whom the Jews had crucified, was the Son of God. 

Many at first, thought he had lost his reason ; but when 
these came to dispute with him on the subject they found 
their mistake — hatred took the place of pity ; and they re- 
solved to put out of the way, by foul means, a man, whose 
eloquence and genius they had despaired of being able to 
withstand. A conspiracy was formed, and some got orders 
to watch the gates of the city, lest they might escape. 
Matters were now becoming as warm for Saul himself as 
he, so short a time before had made them for others. 

But his day had not come ; he had yet to go before the 
Gentiles, and before kings, to suffer great things for the 
name of Christ. Hence, while the Jews kept watch, with 
bludgeons, at the gates, some faithful few had planned his 
escape. His flight from Damascus had not the pomp and 
circumstance of his approach to the city, and but few of 
those who had known him previously would have even once 
thought, on seeing a basket descend from the wall at mid- 
night, that Saul was in it. 

But he was a changed man. That natural virtue of cour- 
age which he possessed in such an eminent degree, was now 
tempered w T ith Christian prudence, and he felt he would not 
be justified in exposing to danger, from private malice, a 
life that might be of much public utility. 

''When they persecute you in one city, fly ye into another," 
was the counsel of the Saviour to the Apostles, and we find 
them following the advice, whenever it w T as convenient to 
do so. It is true they had courage in the highest degree ; 
but they did not seek the danger, as the heroes of this w r orld 
sometimes do, out of a spirit of vain-glory. They suffered 



254 



ALETHAURION . 



with fortitude, where pain was unavoidable, but they did 
not seek death, except when it stood in the path to duty. 

What calm and solemn grandeur do we not find in the 
sufferings of the Apostles, and the other martyrs and con- 
fessors of the Catholic Church, and how forcibly does it 
not contrast with the sullen impenitence of heretics when 
expiating their crimes. 

The life of Paul, after his conversion to the Catholic 
faith, may be likened to a beautiful heroic poem ; the first 
line of which is the key-note to what follows. His entire 
subsequent life was only a repetition of his first experience 
in Damascus. Great energy in advocating the gospel cause 
was met with corresponding obstinancy on the part of the 
Jews, and with lofty disdain by those who stood foremost 
amongst the Gentiles. Flight and apparent defeat gener- 
ally marked the close of his career, in those cities in which 
he labored. The enemies of the gospel sought to take his 
life wherever he went, because they felt the vigor of his 
blows, and knew there was not a white feather in his 
plumage. If Paul had been a putty-faced sort of a man, 
he would never have had so much opposition to encounter. 
He might, in that case, have settled down quietly in Damas- 
cus, and dying, much thought of by Pagans, have left after 
him a little knot of timorous, pigeon-livered Catholics, 
thankful for being allowed to live, and afraid to say they 
had souls of their own. 

Those men whom we call the Apostles, were giants ; and 
they left as their immediate successors, a race of giants. 
By word, and especially by example, they taught men not 
only to love justice, but to hate iniquity. They infused 
into the parent the spirit of love for truth, and fear of con- 
tamination from error. Thus, according to the order 
established by God, the pastor influenced the parent, and 
the parent influenced the child. Some good people of 
modern times, write, speak and act with a blindness and a 



ALETHAURION. 



255 



subversion of first principles that is amazing. They at- 
tempt to reverse the order — to make Jack a good boy, and 
then get him to convert his daddy. Instead of taking the 
bull by the horns, they get hold of him by the tail. 

The simplest lessons are sometimes the hardest to be 
learned ; and as we ought not to close our eyes to facts, so 
neither ought we refuse to have recourse to first principles, 
where facts are against an existing idea or system. 

As a rule, no authority on earth can, with success, take 
the place of the parent's. Any tampering with it upsets 
the order established by God, and the results will not be, 
generally speaking, satisfactory. 

We have greater facilities now for the spread of knowl- 
edge than were in the days of the Apostles, and yet it may 
be doubted whether, taken by the average, the Catholics 
are any better instructed now, in matters appertaining to 
faith and morals, than they were at the end of the first 
century, when the Apostles had passed away. 

Preaching, and from a solid type, was then practiced ; 
and we can see from the homilies of some of the early 
Fathers that they addressed congregations that must have 
stood high in theological knowledge. We mean no disre- 
spect. But how is it now? It's all about the fair, and the 
pic-nic, and the promenade concert ; ending with an exhor- 
tation to be good people, and not fail to be on the grounds 
at the proper time. God is not honored by means that are 
questionable. 

Thus we do not save our bacon, because it is not salted 
with the word of life. After the sacrifice and the sacra- 
ments, next comes preaching, or a clear and easy exposition 
of some dogma or truth of our faith. Where this practice 
ends indifference begins ; and the schoolmaster, though 
a good man in his place, will not be able to supply the 
deficiency. 

Following up this line of thought, on the first principles, 
we would say that no Catholic family should be without a 



256 



ALETHAURION. 



Catholic newspaper, and no Catholic newspaper without hav- 
ing, at least, one column a week given to an explanation of 
some doctrine of the Church. The field is large, and there 
are abundance of flowers to make the nosegay. 

Thus we have rambled off a good ways from Damascus ; 
but, in our next we will return to the point. 



CHAPTEE LXI. 



THE WANDERER. 

Having been compelled, by the force of circumstances, to 
leave Damascus, Paul next passed into Arabia. But we 
have no certain knowledge of what happened to him there, 
nor is it stated in the scriptures that he went to preach to 
the Arabs. 

Hence, we may at this point, give expression to some 
speculations, as to how he may have employed his time. 

Arabia is a country that then, as now, abounded in vast 
sandy solitudes, fit places where one might give himself up 
entirely to prayer and contemplation. 

What more natural, therefore, than that Paul, after his 
late experience at Damascus, should have felt more keenly, 
the magnitude, and the dangerous character of the work 
that lay before him ; and that he should have retired to the 
desert to give himself up for a time to prayer, as a prepara- 
tion, before commencing anew the w r orkof an evangelist. 

To retire to the desert was a favorite practice with some 
of the holy men among the Jews, from Moses and Elias, 
down ; and Paul could not, at that time, have been ignor- 
ant of the fact that the Saviour himself, before having be- 
gun his public career, fasted and prayed forty days in the 
desert. Hence, it is at least highly probable that his life 
in Arabia was not that of an evangelist but rather of a 
hermit. 



ALETHAUEIOX. 



257 



After having remained away about three years, he again 
returned to Damascus, and from there proceeded to Jeru- 
salem. 

Before following him to his other fields of labor, we will 
touch on a question that may interest the reader. It is gen- 
erally believed that Paul received a knowledge of the truths 
and mysteries of the faith, not from any of the Apostles or 
disciples, but from the Saviour directly. 

Indeed he tells us himself, G-alatians, i, 12, that he did 
not receive the gospel from man, nor did he even learn it, 
but had it by revelation of Jesus Christ. 

It becomes interesting to inquire at what period in his life 
this knowledge was communicated to him, in the extraordin- 
ary manner spoken of. 

Most persons imagine that it at once came with the Sav- 
iour's appearance to him on approaching Damascus. Yet a 
careful perusal of the narrative, as given in Acts ix, will 
convince any one that it was not then the mind of Saul 
was illuminated. 

When he asked what he should do on that occasion, he 
was told, that it would be made known to him in the city. 
But we must not think that the instructions given by 
Ananias were complete, or, that a fuller revelation was not 
necessary ; taking into consideration the work that, in the 
designs of God, he was to perform. 

Paul, himself, tells us (ii Corinthians, xii,) that, above 
fourteen years previous, he was taken up to heaven, and 
that he heard secret words, which it is not granted to man 
to utter. 

It was on this occasion, we presume, that he received that 
plentitude of knowledge, which fitted him for an Apostle. 

But, some one may ask : At what period of his life was 
he thus favored with the vision of the celestial kingdom ? 
We may say, first of all, that in regard to these apostolic 
rosebushes, the very best chronologists are not entirely reli- 
able, nor able to steer us clear of all thorns of uncertainty. 



258 



ALETHAURION. 



The epistle above named, in which mention is made of 
the vision, is said to have been written twenty-four years 
after the Saviour's death; and, as the conversion of St. 
Paul is said to have taken place about one year after that 
event, consequently it would not have been until the ninth 
year after his conversion that he was taken up to heaven. 

The writer does not wish to pass for an innovator in these 
pages, which are principally for the instruction of those who 
may not have time nor patience to wade through the original 
authorities. 

But there is a temptation here offered to propose a theory, 
on the subject, that certainly has some probability about it 
and one that will differ with the generally accepted chro- 
nology in a matter of only six years. The assumptions 
may, it is true, be regarded as gratuitous, but what they 
lack in authority they will gain in symmetry. 

May we not say, that after Saul had left his basket, out- 
side the walls of Damascus, he was led by the spirit into 
the deserts of Arabia, and that he there, for the space of 
three years, gave himself up to fasting, to prayer, and to 
contemplation ; until, at the end of that time, when he had 
done penance for his sins, he was taken up to heaven, where, 
at the foot of the throne, he received from Christ himself, 
a knowledge of all those sublime truths of the Catholic 
faith, which he was, in after time, to preach to the Jew 
first, and then to the Greek and to the barbarian. 

That he was taught by the Saviour himself is a matter of 
certainty, and, that this instruction was given before he was 
commissioned to teach others, is certainly in consonance 
with the ways of Divine Providence. 

That Paul, after having left Damascus, went into some 
place if retirement, receives further confirmation from the 
fact that when he returned to Jerusalem, the rest of the 
faithful, or a high percentage of them, were still afraid of 
him, not being certain of his conversion. 

Had he, during those three years that elapsed between his 



ALETHAURION . 



259 



departure from Damascus and his return for the second 
time to that place, been engaged in preaching the gospel, 
there would have been no doubt in the minds of the brethren 
that he was a safe man to trust. 

But, as the matter stood, it required some explanations 
from Barnabas to quiet their nerves, and convince them 
that all was right. Scarcely had he rested in Jerusalem, 
after his journey, when the zeal, the same old mania for dis- 
putation took possession of him. This time it was with the 
Grecians that were in Jerusalem, and the result was the 
same as before. 

Unable to resist his logic, they sought to kill him. So, 
in order to save his life, the brethren took him out of the 
city, first to Cesarea, and then to Tarsus, his native town. 

His deeds after leaving Tarsus will form the ground work 
of our next. 



CHAPTEE LXII. 



saul's ordination. 

After a stay of fifteen days, Saul was compelled to beat 
a hasty retreat from Jerusalem. He next went to Tarsus, 
his native city, but of his missionary life there we have no 
special mention. No doubt he displayed the same zeal in 
the place of his birth, as elsewhere, though he possibly may 
not have made many converts to the Catholic faith, for no 
one is a prophet in his own country. 

Now, it so happened, that while Paul was at Damascus, 
and in Arabia, apersecution raged in Jerusalem, and through- 
out Judea, against the Catholics. Many were compelled to 
fly from the province, and seek refuge in distant cities. 
Not a few found shelter in Antioch, the capital of Syria, and 
at the time, a place of great commerce and importance. 

Those fugitives were not idle, while in Antioch, but sought 



260 



ALETHAURION. 



to advance the gospel cause in every way possible and 
legitimate. 

Hence, within a short time, a good many of the citizens 
had either embraced, or were well disposed toward the new 
religion. When news of these things came to the Church in 
Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to take observations. 

Having arrived in Antioch, he found that many had 
indeed embraced the faith, and that there was a splendid 
field open and ready for the sickle. Those who believed 
were principally from that class that usually goes under the 
name of the "common people." Others, who pretended to 
be very learned, could not, of course, see any sense at all in 
the new doctrines. They were too full of conceit to think 
there was anything more for them to learn, and were more 
disposed to give than to take instruction of any kind. 

These self-styled philosophers played the part of the dog 
in the manger. They would not enter the Church them- 
selves, and their refusal to do so kept many others from even 
examining the grounds of Catholic doctrine. 

Barnabas saw at a glance that, in order to have good suc- 
cess in Antioch, the first thing necessary was to lessen the 
conceit of those Pagan philosophers, who set themselves up 
as authorities on all manner of subjects, and were, in truth, 

a keen set of rascals. He had seen enough of Saul to know 

— 

that he was precisely the man most needed at the front, to 
take the dust out of Paganism, and show how thread-bare, 
even moth-eaten, a garment it was. So he started at once 
to Tarsus, and having found Saul, they both returned to 
Antioch, where they spent one whole year teaching Catholic 
doctrine. Such was their success, that by reason of the 
multitude that believed, the disciples were there first called 
Christians. 

They did not, however, go into a committee of the whole 
and agree to call themselves Christians, as some of our 
neighbors do at the present day, but they " were called 



ALETHAURION. 



261 



Christians " by the Pagan inhabitants of the city, and, most 
likely, the word was first used as a term of reproach. 

Up to this time Saul had not been ordained to the priest- 
hood of the new law. He had, indeed, done the Church 
valuable service as a teacher, but he had not the power to 
offer sacrifice to the Lord, nor to remit sin, nor to anoint 
the sick with oil, nor to ordain others to the ministry. He 
was, in fact, one of the laity. And his example shows us 
what services, in the matter of teaching, a learned and zeal- 
ous member of the laity may render in the Church. It is 
certainly not customary, at the present day, that laymen 
should preach publicly in the Churches, on matters apper- 
taining to faith and morals, nor is it necessary, since that, 
in a special manner, belongs to the ordained ministers. 

But there are many other questions, akin to the faith, 
that members of the laity might ventilate from the rostrum, 
or through the columns of a Catholic weekly, with much 
profit to the cause. In this way we would, to some extent, 
bring back again that fervor of apostolic times, when all had 
but one heart and one mind, and one idea uppermost, which 
was the propagation of the truth among men. 

In chapter xiii of Acts, we have an account given of the 
ordination of Saul and Barnabas. This was done, as it 
also now is, by the imposition of hands, and by prayer, of 
those in the Church who have power and authority to con- 
fer sacred orders. Some of our sectarian friends have, also, 
in their Churches, what they call ordination, or laying on of 
hands. Such ordination is, of course, null and void, where 
there is not real apostolic succession. Let us explain, briefly 
what we mean by this : 

Apostolic succession, in the matter of sacred orders, con- 
sists in the transmission, from one man to another, and from 
age to age, of the ordinary powers given by Christ to the' 
Apostles. 

Foremost among these is the power to offer sacrifice, to 



262 



ALETHAURION. 



remit sin, and in general, to dispense the mysteries of God ; 
in other words, to administer the sacrament. 

That such powers were given by Christ to them, is some- 
thing clearly taught in the scriptures, and also held by the 
Catholic Church from the time that Christ lived until now. 
That the Apostles had the power and authority of sending 
others, as they had themselves been sent, is equally clear. 
" As the Father has sent Me," said Christ, " so, also, I 
send you." 

Hence, the powers spoken of above, were given to indi- 
vidual men, and by them again, to individual men, and so 
on. Now, as the power to ordain is only in those who have 
the complement of the priesthood or eldership in the Church 
hence it follows, that, where hands are not laid on by a 
bishop, there is no ordination. Christ did not give the 
powers, spoken of, to all the members of his Church in 
globo, as the saying is. He gave them only to the Apostles, 
although he had, at the same time, seventy-two disciples. 
The Apostles in turn, did not ordain every one a bishop 
whom they had received into the Church ; they picked out 
faithful men, who would be fit to teach and transmit to 
others what they had themselves received ; and thus the suc- 
cession has been kept up to our own day. The election of 
a man to *be a deacon or an elder in the Church amounts to 
nothing, unless some one lays hands on him who has had 
hands laid upon himself already, because no man can give 
what he does not possess. The citizens of Frogtown may 
unanimously elect Major McMuddle postmaster, but, 
though the major may be a very good man, and may have 
dodged many a bullet, in his country's service, yet, without 
power and authority from the President, his election does 
not give him the right to handle the United States mails at 
Frog town, nor any where else. The frogs may bear testi- 
mony to his fitness for the office, but they cannot make him 
postmaster, unless they first succeed in making Frogtown a 
free and independent republic or monarchy, bidding defiance 



ALETHAURION. 



263 



thereby, to the constitution and laws of the United States. 
It is thus, also, in the Church. 

After Saul's ordination be left Antioch, and entered new 
fields of labor, where we will meet him in a future chapter. 



CHAPTER LXIII. 



CONCERNING- MAGIC. 

We read in the thirteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apos- 
tles, that when Paul and Barnabas, directed by the Holy 
Ghost, had begun to preach the gospel in the island of Cy- 
prus, they were opposed by a Jewish magician named 
Elymas. 

This man had, by false miracles, and great pretensions, 
acquired considerable iniiuence with the pro-consul, or gover- 
nor. When the latter, whose name was Sergius Paulus, 
wished to hear the gospel preached, the magician made use 
of all his craftiness to dissuade him from listening to the 
Word, or believing in it. Then Paul, full of the Holy 
Ghost, and knowing by what spirit the magician was moved, 
looking upon him, said : 

4i 0, thou, full of all guile and of all deceit, son of the devil, enemy of 
all justice, thou dost not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord. 
And now behold the hand of the Lord upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, 
not seeing the sun for a time." 

After Paul had spoken these words, the magician was 
at once struck blind, and he went about seeking some one to 
lead him by the hand. This miracle was the occasion of 
converting the governor, and also affords the writer a pre- 
text for branching off into an episode on magic. Variety is 
the spice of life . 

Magic is the art of performing feats that appear superna- 
tural, without the divine agency, and a magician is a man 
who performs them. Frequent mention is made of this art 



264 



ALETHAURION. 



in the scriptures, and those given to the practice of it are 
represented as odious in the sight of God. The Catholic 
Church has also pronounced anathemas against them, and 
in times past they were, not unfrequently, punished by the 
civil law. 

It is well known that during the reign of Puritanism, in 
New England, scores of people were put to death for having 
been real or supposed witches. And if an old woman had 
a spite against a neighbor, which she could not in other 
ways gratify, a charge of witchcraft, with moderate proof, 
would do more towards gaining the desired end than a 
month's tongue-lashing. 

Infidels, who do not admit supernatural agencies, attempt 
to hold up to ridicule what has been handed down from 
remote ages on this subject. But facts are stubborn argu- 
ments . Even in our times, many things happen, which can 
scarcely be referred to the Supreme Being, and which yet 
transcend human power. 

Before dividing the subject into appropriate headings, we 
will examine, in general terms, into the origin of magic, 
and then give some of those things that the inspired writers 
and the Fathers of the Church, have had to say concerning 
it. 

There can scarcely be any doubt that magic is an offshoot 
of Polytheism, or the worship of many false gods. The 
passions attributed to those deities, the likes and dislikes 
which they were supposed to manifest, the influence un- 
regulated by the perfections of the true God, as known to 
us, which they were thought to exercise over the things of 
this world, naturally produced on weak human nature a 
pusillanimity, akin to that which the spaniel manifests on 
coming in contact with a full-blown bull-dog. There were 
among the Pagans, not only many superior gods, but also a 
variety of secondary spirits, capable of rendering service, 
if well disposed, or of afflicting pain, if angered. 



ALETHAURION. 



265 



The feeble-minded and superstitious dreaded their dis- 
pleasure, and were, as a consequence, desirous to know 
how their good will might be procured and retained. Hence, 
by the law of supply and demand, there were not wanting 
other crafty mortals, who, taking advantage of this general 
feeling, professed themselves on intimate terms with one or 
more of these malignant spirits. 

There can be no reasonable grounds for doubt, but that 
the enemy also took advantage of this state of affairs, 
and that many, who in the beginning, out of motives of 
gain or vain glory, falsely pretended to superior knowledge, 
found, in course of time, that there was indeed some super- 
natural agency working with them, and thus became 
magicians in the full sense of that word. 

Celsus, a Pagan philosopher, who wrote about the year 
170 A. D., and who was himself a firm believer in magic, 
gives us another theory on the subject. He maintained 
that the inferior order of animals not only have souls, but 
that their' s are of a nature far superior to man's, and that 
they have more intimate relations with the spirit world. It 
was from these, according to our philosopher, that man 
first learned the interesting science of magic. See Origen, 
Cont. Cels. lib. 4, 79. 

From this one, and others of the Pagan writers, we learn 
that it was firmly believed among the people that a man 
might have intercourse with the demons of spirits, and that 
he might obtain of them superior knowledge, and by their 
aid, perform supernatural acts. 

The means employed to draw the attention and gain the 
good will of those spirits, gave names to the different species 
of magic. Sometimes it was by a short formula, called in 
Latin a carmen, in English a charm ; sometimes it was by 
singing and the sounds of musical instruments, and hence, 
called an enchantment. When the souls of the dead were 
called up by means of the spirits, it was called necromancy. 
Future events, foretold by means of the spirits, were called 



266 



ALETHAURION . 



divinations. "When the spirits were invoked to afflict others 
with sickness, or a misfortune of any kind, it was a malefice. 
Children were kept from growing by what was known as 
fascination, or the influence of the spirit's evil eye through 
his agent. The agency of the spirit, in the casting of lots, 
was called sorcery. To excite unlawful love in one of the 
opposite sex, by means of the spirits, was called a pkiltrum. 

These are the different species of magic, about some of 
which we will have a word or two before having reached 
the end of this episode. It is quite probable that many oc- 
currences have, in times passed, been attributed to the in- 
fluence of the demon, which might have been explained on 
natural principles. But it is no less true that there are 
many other facts that are entirely above scientific analysis, 
and must be referred to where they belong — to the Old 
Serpent. 

As to our man Elymas, the scriptures do not tell us in 
which of these different species he was most expert. But 
it is highly probable that he had graduated in them all. 

In our next we will take up and discuss some well known, 
cases found in scripture. 



CHAPTEK LXIY. 



NECROMANCY. 

This is a word of Greek origin, composed of neJcros, a 
man, and manteia, a prophecy. Taken altogether it means, 
first, a revelation made by a departed soul ; and secondly, 
the art of getting the dead to make such manifestations. 

Some twenty years ago, this art was quite extensively 
practiced here in the United States, under the name of 
" Spiritualism." Many had almost lost their senses with 
joy at the thought that now, at least, a sure telegraphic com- 
munication had been established between this vale of tears 



ALETHAURION. 



267 



and the Elysian fields, the abode of the blessed. Those 
persons did not know, and were too wise in their own con- 
ceit to learn from authorized teachers, that spiritualism is 
an old trick, and that the Father of Lies is the patentee. 

The matter had to run its course, before its adherents 
could be persuaded that they were engaged in picking Dead 
Sea apples, and that they would have nothing in the end, 
but dust and worms for their pains. 

This sombre art goes back to quite a remote period in the 
world's history, and appears to have been practiced among 
very many peoples, tribes and tongues. 

It is well known that among the ancients, it was custom- 
ary to make great outward show of grief, when a member 
of a family was called off by death. The friends and neigh- 
bors of the deceased were called in to speak of his good 
qualities, and show their sorrow by tears and lamentations. 
In order that prostration might not follow, plenty of good 
cheer was provided by the dead man's relatives, and, no 
doubt, some beverages, akin to that which kept the faith 
alive in the Highlands, during the persecutions, was freely- 
handed around by the chief mourners, and complimented 
by the sympathizing neighbors. This was, in all probability, 
the beginning of it ; but not the end. 

Under circumstances like these, it will not be wondered 
at, that some should see, or imagined they saw, the dead 
man's ghost, and learned from it many curious details of 
the spirit world. 

A sanctimonious old lady, " Down East," a firm believer 
in spiritualism, and a medium, while keeping watch by the 
bier of a departed son, a few years ago, saw her beloved 
boy enter the room, go through a series of antics, grin at 
his mother, look at his own dead body, and remark that he 
should never have thought that so beautiful a boy would 
have made such an ugly corpse. Whether her imagination 
was rendered vivid on that occasion by a Highland stimulant, 
or whether it was a goblin damned that took the form of 



268 



ALETHAURION. 



her child, is a very deep question, and ought not to be 
decided without a critical examination into all the circum- 
stances of the case. 

Supposing the narrative true, we must admit the old lady 
was favored in an extraordinary manner ; for the spirits do 
not generally deign to manifest themselves so openly. 

It happened otherwise in the case of an acquaintance of 
ours. He was a Catholic, and a pious one. Finding him- 
self, one evening, in company with some heretics, one of 
whom was a medium, it was agreed to have a spiritual 
seance. Our friend took no active part in the matter, but 
remained an observer. When all had seated themselves 
around the table, the spirit of a man who had been hanged 
for murder was called, and requested to tell where he was, 
and how he fared. 

He replied, through the medium, that there was one in the 
party whose presence was displeasing to himself, and to the 
other spirits, and that no answer would be given, as long as 
the obnoxious person remained in the room. As the spirit 
did not make known the name of the objectionable indi- 
vidual, it was agreed that, one at a time, should go into an 
adjoining room. "When it had come to our friend's turn, 
the spirit got the use of his knuckles,*and rapped a response, 
to the effect that he was then in the Elysian Fields, and had 
for companions and associates there, such men as Benjamin 
Franklin, George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, 
Andrew Jackson, and many others, distinguished in the 
history of this country. 

This case, which is from a reliable source, recalls to mind 
what some of the ancient Fathers have handed down, con- 
cerning the refusal of the Pagan oracles to give responses, 
because the bones of some Christian martyrs were buried 
close by. And, it may be that the young man, to whom we 
refer, had, at the time, some devotional object about his 
person. 

Necromancy was strictly forbidden by the law of Moses : 



ALETHAURION. 



269 



••Xeither let there be found among you." said he addressing the 
people of Israel. " any one that consulteth the pythonic spirits, or for- 
tune-tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead.''' — [Deut. xviii. 

The prophet Isaias, also, condemns those who seek to 
know of the dead what may be of advantage to the living. 
(Chapter viii. ) Indeed, all those kings of Israel, who were 
pious and feared God, were careful to proscribe necromancy, 
and punish all who practiced it. 

We learn, also, from the Theodocian code of laws, Lib. 9, 
tit. 38, leg. 3, that Constantine, after having professed 
Christianity, was severe on necromancers ; and his son and 
successor, Constaxce, condemned them to death, as persons 
in league with the devil. 

In the Councils of Laodicea, and of IV Carthage, it was 
decreed that this crime should be punished by excommuni- 
cation . 

From these various evidences it is clear that both by Jews 
and Christians, spiritualism or necromancy, has ever been 
regarded as the work of the demon. 

We mav now introduce the celebrated case of Kinsr Saul 
and the Witch of Endor : it being the best authenticated ex- 
ample of necromancy to be found in either ancient or 
modern history. The circumstances are related in the 
first book of Kings, chapter xxviii, and are substantially as 
follows : 

Saul, when on the point of engaging in battle with the 
Philistines, was anxious to know what the result would be. 
Having, by his crimes, lost favor with God, he now sought 
information of a pythoness, or witch. Just as some Catho- 
lics, who do not wish to confess their sins nor really amend 
their lives, go seeking the means of sanctification outside 
the Church, when they have them within in such abundance. 
Saul desired the Witch to call up from the dead the soul of 
Samuel, and he having arisen, informed the king that his 
army would be defeated, and himself killed. 



270 



ALETHAURION. 



Here, then, we have a sure case of necromancy — a proph- 
ecy made by a dead man, and fulfilled soon after 

This fact suggests two other questions : 

First, Did Samuel really appear, or was it a piece of 
deception — ventriloquism — on the part of the pythoness? 

Second, Is the appearance of Samuel to be attributed to 
the demon, or to divine agency? 

Tertulliax, Basil and Gregory, of Nyssa, were of 
opinion that it was an Evil Spirit that took the prophet's 
form on that occasion, and spoke in his name. 

Eustachius of Antioch, Cyril of Alexandria, and others, 
maintained that the sorceress only pretended to have seen 
him, but spoke for him. 

The Jewish Rabbi, Leyi-Bex-Gersox, referred the whole 
matter to Saul's disordered imagination. 

Those who contend that the apparition was real, may be 
divided into two classes. Justin, Origex, Axastasius of 
Antioch, Augustixe, and others, attribute the apparition to 
the power of the demon ; whereas St. Ambrose, Zexo of 
Verona, Thomas Aquixas, and more recent commentators, 
maintain that neither the Witch nor the Evil Spirit had 
power to evoke Samuel from the tomb, and hence, they 
attribute his appearance on that occasion to God. This last 
opinion appears more in conformity with reason, and the 
only one worthy of consideration. 

The next chapter will treat of charms. 



CHAPTER LXV. 

CHARMS. 

Charms are subdivisions of the magical art, and though, 
as in common use, the word is interchangeable with en- 
chantment, yet strictly speaking, there is a difference. 

A charm consists in a set form of words, conveying to 



ALETHAURION. 



271 



the hearer sometimes a definite idea, and sometimes expres- 
sing none at all intelligible to man. Those that are the 
least intelligible are said to be the best, because of a nature 
more confidential between the spirit and the worshiper. 

In some charms, the words of the formula must be 
accompanied by certain acts, and unless all the circum- 
stances of time, place, person and manner are strictly, even 
minutely observed, it will not work. 

Not only human beings may be affected in this way, but 
also, irrational creatures, Indian jugglers are said to have, 
by means 'of charms, a power over even the most venomous 
serpents to be found in* that benighted land. So that, 
under magic influence, the deadly cobra becomes, for the 
time being, harmless, and even playful. But from such 
playthings, deliver us, O Lord. 

No doubt those jugglers know their business well, and 
have besides, the right kind of charms. It was not so with 
an adventurer who attempted to astonish the natives at a 
place some dozen or fifteen miles above Mt. Sterling, in 
this State. He gave out that he was a practical snake 
charmer, and as a consequence, was for some time held 
in high consideration among that class of people who have 
a gaping for the marvelous. His powers were tested on 
water snakes of different kinds, to the entire satisfaction of 
all concerned — the snakes included. 

Finally a wagoner brought to the place one day, from 
the mountains, a stalwart specimen of another breed, with 
twelve rattles and a button. The string that tied him to 
the coupling pole was not cut, until the charmer was sent 
for. He was to be manager, and show all who wished to 
learn, how a rattler might be " coaxed," as he called the 
process of charming. 

A ring was soon formed, and the juggler began to mutter 
the sacred words, approaching the snake at the same time, 
with a steady eye, and motions of the hands, resembling 
those made by a poodle in the water. 



272 



ALETHAUEION. 



After having moved forward and backward several times, 
it became manifest to all that the charm had begun to work ; 
for the snake coiled himself, and showed evident signs of 
irritation ; the prelude to final victory. At length, before 
the charm had produced its full effect, the juggler ap- 
proached a little too close, increasing thereby, too suddenly 
the magical influence ; which became so strong that it burst 
those invisible tubes that led from his eye to the snake's. 
In this way the current was, for an instant, broken ; and 
before it could be re-established, the snake made a spring 
and bit the juggler's arm, below the elbow. He soon be- 
gan to swell ; and though plenty %f that stuff that has kept 
alive the spirit of chivalry in the Kentucky mountains, was 
applied to the wound, inside and out, it was to no purpose 
— the juggler died within twenty-four hours. 

Any one that is at all acquainted with even the rudiments 
of magic, will readily see and admit, that the want of suc- 
cess in this case must not be ascribed to the charm itself, 
but to the fact that the conditions were not observed in 
making the application. 

Now, according to the best authorities, when there is ques- 
tion of charming a rattle-snake, or copper-head, the juggler 
ought not to go inside of a circle, having a radius of five 
feet from the serpent's head, without a hickory wand. Then, 
when he observes that the tubes, spoken of above, by which 
the magic influence is conveyed from his eyes to those of the 
serpent, are becoming irregular in their action, a few judi- 
cious taps of the wand on the snake's head will again restore 
the circulation and insure success. 

It was by the omission of this important feature that, our 
magician lost his life. 

It is a mooted question whether charms are man's inven- 
tion or whether they were first taught him by the spirits of 
the nether world. Some Pagan writers, such as Porphy- 
rius and other theurgists, maintain that the spirits first 
taught them to mankind. But a thoughtful consideration 



ALETHAUEION. 



273 



of the following fact, would lead us to suppose that they 
are of human invention, though afterwards endorsed and 
made negotiable by his Sable Majesty. 

A little upwards of a hundred years ago there lived in a 
.small house, on the out-skirts of Dublin, an old hag who 
had the reputation of being in league with the devil ; and 
she lived by selling whisky on the sly. One day a couple 
of Trinity college students came to her to get some patent 
eye-water on "tick," for they were broken, flat. The 
crone refused to listen to their pleadings unless they put 
down their silver first, which neither was able to do. When 
about to leave, in disgust at their want of success, one of 
them noticed that she had a sore eye, and a bright thought 
struck him at once. He pretended to be a young doctor, 
and told her that, if she would oblige them this time, he 
would cure her ; and, on the coming week, return and settle 
all back accounts. To this, the dame replied with a " g^et 
out o' me house/' and a motion toward the opposite corner, 
where there was a stout broom-handle . 

Seeing that an appeal to science did no good, the other 

now remembered that he had a charm to cure sore eyes, and 

that his own grand-father, and lately his step-mother, had 

been saved from total blindness by the use of it. The old 

hag was mollified by this piece of information, and she 

finally agreed to give the whisky for the charm, and the 

instructions how to use ic. It was written in Latin, to the 

following effect i 

" May the Old Harry gouge out your eye, and put it in his museum, to 
scare away the rats. May every tooth in your head ache until your toes, 
turn up. May you get the yellow jaundice and the measles again, and 
may you have the mumps along Avith them. You old witch, you. 
Ameii.'' 

Twenty years after this event, the prodigal boy had be- 
come a judge ; and, while pronouncing sentence, according 
to law, against others, he remembered his own juvenile 
pranks, only to regret them. 



274 



ALETHAURIOX. 



One day there was brought before him an old woman, 
bent almost double with the miseries incident to poverty 
and old age. She had been accused of witchcraft, and the 
jury had found her guilty. Her crime consisted in curino- 
sore eyes by magic, and there was the charm as evidence of 
it. The judge requested to see the document; when, lo ! 
and behold ! there was the identical paper he had given her 
twenty years before. He explained the circumstances to the 
jury, the witch was discharged, and with her toes now turned 
up for joy, made good time home from the court-house, 
thanking God for her deliverance, and fully bent on having 
nothing more to do with charms in the future. 

It would appear from this case, that the demon sometimes 
takes advantage of things that are in themselves harmless, 
or at most jocose to spread abroad his venom and sap the 
faith of true believers. 

To say that charms have any power in themselves would, 
of course, be simple folly, for there is, evidently, none of 
the relationship of cause and effect between reading or wear- 
ing around the neck a piece of paper, and the cure of sore 
eves. 

But, to affirm that the evil Spirit cannot take advantage of 
such things, would be equally silly. From Eevelation we 
learn that the demons have an intelligence far superior to 
ours. The laws of nature, the relations of cause and effect, 
and many other matters are known to them in a manner far 
superior to any knowledge we can have. We learn, also, 
that with God's permission, the devil has power to afflict 
men with sickness. Witness Job, and many other cases in 
our Lord's time. If we admit he has power to afflict, why 
not also a curative power when it suits his designs ? The 
devil is the prince of gamblers, and he will risk a minnow 
at any time to catch a sturgeon. He only desires that men 
be drawn to put their confidence in him, instead of God, 
and charms are nothing more nor less than the prayers of 



ALETHAURIOX. 



275 



those who worship him. Some times the prayers are heard 
but oftenerthey are not. 

Our next will be about enchantments, especially those of 
the magicians of Egypt. ' 



CHAPTER LXVI. 



EXCHAXT3IEXTS. 

Enchantments are parts of the magical art, and bear 
about the same relation to charms that music does to poetry. 

Were it not for the light which Kevelation sheds upon the 
future state, our notions concerning what belongs to it 
would indeed be very gross and materialistic. Clear evi- 
dence of this is to be found among unchristianized nations, 
even at the present day. The North American Indian 
has no higher idea of the bliss of heaven than that it is a 
country beyond the setting sun, with a never failing stock 
of game, and an everlasting summer. Hence, his bow and 
a well filled quiver, are placed by his side in the grave, and 
the life of a favorite dog is forfeited, that he may accompany 
the spirit of his master through shady valleys, and along 'the 
banks of dark, rolling streams in the happy hunting grounds. 

The Turk, though more civilized than the Indian, figures 
to himself a paradise in keeping with his swinish proclivities 
here on earth ; and the lords of Ashantee cannot imagine 
how a chief can rest in the other life, until his wives, and a 
percentage of his servants are dispatched straight to him. 

Thus, it was supposed also, among the Pagans of ancient 
time, that whatever gave pleasure here, would not be unac- 
ceptable hereafter. 

And as all men are more or less susceptible to the charms 
of music, it was thought that spirits could not be insensible 
to melody or enchantment. Now, as to Beelzebub really 
taking delight in the sound of the banjo or flute is indeed 



276 



ALETHAUKION. 



very questionable. But, if a man believes he does, and 
takes that means to secure his presence and aid, the writer 
would not go so far as to say that it is out of the demon's 
power to make the enchanter think he likes the music well. 

We are told in the book of Exodus, that when Aaron, the 
brother of Moses, came before Pharaoh, to request that the 
children of Israel be allowed to leave Egypt, the king de- 
manded a sign in proof of his divine mission. Then Aaron 
threw down the rod which he held in his hand, and it 
instantly changed into a serpent. This was evidently a mira- 
cle, and ought to have been sufficient. But Pharoah had 
seen so many tricks done by the magicians of Egypt, that 
the foregoing did not move his heart, nor lessen his pride. 

By way of answer to what Aaron had done he sent for 
his own magicians, and true to his expectations, they by 
"Egyptian enchantments, and certain secrets, did in like 
manner ; they every one cast down their rods and they were 
turned into serpents, but Aaron's rod devoured their rods." 

We have here a pretty clear case of a wonderful act done 
by the power of enchantment. But this was not the only 
specimen of their skill ; for they also turned water into 
blood, and brought forth frogs upon the land of Egypt, as 
Moses and Aaron had done. 

The question naturally arises here, as to whether they per- 
formed these false miracles by sleight of hand, or by the 
power of the Evil One. 

Those who may have witnessed the performances of 
Heller, Anderson, and others of our times, will not be 
disposed to quarrel with us should we refer the miracles on 
this occasion to the same source. Though, we do not all 
deny that the great magician himself may have been there, 
ready to put the finishing touch, and, as far as lay in his 
power, give expression to the picture. 

The circumstances were indeed quite favorable to the 
magicians, for, it is not to be presumed that King Pharaoh 
was in any way anxious to detect them in the fraud. He 



ALETHAURION. 



277 



was open to conviction from that side, while he would will- 
ingly close his eyes to the real miracles of Moses and 
Aaeon. 

Now, Jannes and Mambres, (the names of those two 
worthies) no doubt had a great deal of influence and author- 
ity ; mountebanks and thieves like them always have, where 
vice and incompetence reign at headquarters. 

Hence, on learning what Aaron had done, in the presence 
of Pharaoh and his court, they might easily have given 
orders to some of their confederates to catch and bring them 
a couple of serpents ; and by skillful manipulation, a feat 
much similar to that performed by Aaron might have been 
executed. 

As regards the other two miracles, viz : the changing: of 
the waters of the Nile, and other streams of Egypt, into 
blood, as also the plague of the frogs, both of which were 
imitated by the magicians, we may say of the first, that if 
they really changed the waters of the river, and of the other 
streams and pools, as Moses had done, such a feat cannot 
be attributed to mere legerdemain. But it is not at all 
probable that those tricksters did more than give the color 
of blood to a small portion of water, taken from pits dug 
near the Nile, during those seven days through which the 
miracle lasted. As regards the frogs we may say in like 
manner. A tubful or two for Pharaoh to look at, was, in 
all probability, the extent of the damage on that occasion. 

But whether we hold that it was mere sleight of hand, or 
maintain, as some do, that the demon aided them, we still 
fail to see that the king and his people had any good reason 
for denying the divine mission of Moses and Aaron. 

When a magician performs a false miracle, there is always 
something connected with it by which it may be distinguished 
from the genuine. 

Thus, when Heller picks a silver dollar out of a black 
man's eye, it is evident that he performs a mere piece of 
legerdemain. For, if each and every negro has in his optic 



278 



ALETHAURION. 



a Mexican, and Heller has the power of getting it out, why 
does he not go to Tiinbuctoo at once and get rich, instead 
of trying to replenish his purse by giving exhibitions here ? 

We may say the same of Pharaoh and his court. They 
need not have been deceived. The fact that Aaron's rod, 
when turned into a serpent, eat up those of the magicians, 
was proof of something unreal in their acts. 

Thus also, when Moses and Aaron produced the cinifs, 
the magicians were unable to do likewise. And when the 
land of Egypt was tried with boils, the magicians and Pha- 
raoh himself, waxed wroth, but had to bear them. 

Our next will be about real miracles. 



CHAPTEE LXVIL 



MIRACLES o 

A miracle may be defined as an event or occurrence, the 
production of which surpasses all created power. Hence, 
Goc alone can perform a real one. 

As such an event is above the laws of nature, in so far as 
known to man, it excites astonishment, and is in consequence 
called a miracle, or wonder-pile. 

Miracles may be divided into three grades or classes ; not 
as regards God, for one is as easy to him as another, but as 
respects our way of viewing them. 

Indeed, so far as the Creator is concerned, there is not, 
neither can there be, any such thing as a miracle. His 
knowledge is infinite and the cause of each event, no matter 
how surprising it may appear to us, is known to Him from 
eternity. Consequently, nnthing can occasion wonder to the 
Omniscient ; except, may be, the stolid conceit of some men 
who take pleasure in being known among their fellow-worms 
as infidels or atheists. 



ALETHAURION. 



279 



An event which surpasses, in the highest degree, the pow- 
ers of nature, we call a miracle of the first class. Such 
would be that John Smith should be present in New York 
and San Francisco at one and the same time ; that the sun 
should stand still in the heavens ; that the human body 
should be glorified, as was that of the Saviour on Mount 
Tabor. 

A miracle of the second class is that which exceeds the 
powers of nature, not so much in the thing done, as in the 
subject in which it is accomplished. Thus, nature has the 
power of giving life to man, at some period before his birth, 
most probably at the moment of his conception. But when 
life, given under the above circumstances, has been lost, 
nature has not the power to restore it. So, also, nature 
gives a man eyes, by which he may see, but if an optic is 
once knocked out, then art may indeed furnish a glass one ; 
but nature will not act in the premises a second time. Hence, 
to give life to a dead man, or sight to the blind, would cer- 
tainly be a miracle, because it would be an event transcend- 
ing the powers of nature under those particular circumstan- 
ces. But it would only be a miracle of the second class ; 
for nature, under other well-known conditions, has the 
power of giving to man both sight and life. | 

A miracle- of the third class is had in the case of an event 
that surpasses the powers of nature, yet only in the order 
and mode of its accomplishment. Thus, if a child happens 
to catch the measles, nature will cure the brat, in due time, 
if he is properly cared for. Yet, if some holy man should 
restore him to health in an instant, it would be a real and 
true miracle, because nature does not work an instantaneous 
cure in the case of measles. 

It will, also, be readily understood that under each of 
these three heads there may be different grades of miracles, 
according as they approach to, or recede from the limits of 
all created power. 

We have said that God alone is able to perform a real 



280 



ALETHAURION. 



miracle. By this, however, we do not mean to exclude the 
agency of angels and of men. It is well known that, both 
in the Old and New Dispensations, God has made use of 
men, and of material objects, to execute His wonders in the 
world. These are instruments in His hand, like a pen in 
that of a scribe. Now, there arises here very naturally a 
question, to the solution of which we shall briefly turn our 
attention. 

Since we do not know what limits God has set to the 
powers of all created nature, how are we to distinguish a 
real miracle from a false one? 

How are we to know whether we must attribute a given 
wonderful event, say the restoration of sight to a blind man, 
to God, to an angel, or to some occult force of nature, or 
even to one of the fallen spirits or demons? 

In reply to this question, which is certainly a very deep 
one, we may observe, first of all, that it is the very same, 
in substance, that the Pharisees put to our Lord himself, 
when they accused Him of working miracles, and casting out 
devils, by the power of Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. — 
[Matt. xii. 

Jewish malice could not conceive a more specious or 
subtle argument against the Saviour's miracles. Hence, 
we may also conclude that He, then, gave the best answer 
possible : 

Knowing their thoughts, 1 " says the Scripture, he said to them: 
"Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate, and 
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if I. by 
Satan, cast out Satan, he is divided against himself: how then shall 
his kingdom stand*? " 

The Saviour does not deny that it is within the power of 
Satan to do wonderful things, through his agents here on 
earth. And, in effect, we know that, toward the end of the 
world, he will, by means of Antichrist, work miracles 
capable of deceiving, if it were possible, even the elect. 

Yet, by the Saviour's answer, we are given to understand 
that the devil's miracles will be such as to never lead men 



ALETHAURION . 



281 



to glorify God, nor to seek their own sanctification. For, 
in that case, his kingdom would be divided. 

The Pharisees saw and knew that the miracles of Christ 
were true ones, and yet, because of their abominable sins of 
pride and lust, they shut their eyes against the light, and 
died in their obstinacy and blindness. By the fruit you 
may know the tree, and a bad tree, such as Satan is, will 
not yield wholesome fruit. 

The foregoing is about the very best means one can have 
by which to distinguish between true and false miracles — 
though the writer is not unaware that theologians gave also 
other marks. Hence, granting tl^it we cannot define the 
exact limit of Satan's power, yet, there is no danger that a 
good and righteous man will ever be deceived by false mir- 
acles. It is only those whose hearts are wrong that will be 
drawn into the vortex. 

To illustrate this, take an example. A sound, upright 
Catholic may be living for years, surrounded by heretics 
and secret societies of every kind, and he will never be 
drawn away from the Faith. But let one of your hickory 
kind, who is a liar from habit and choice, and a fraud, be 
placed in similar circumstances, and you will see how quickly 
he will recognize the folly of praying, fasting, going to con- 
fession, and the like practices. Such a person will easily 
fall away, because his heart is not right in the sight of God. 
It will be thus, also, with the miracles of Satan, only those 
w T ho love deception will be deceived. 

' As regards the miracles performed by the good angels, 
Ave may say that, inasmuch as their wills are in harmony 
with that of the Almighty, good alone can result from 
them. In general terms we may state it as a solid and un- 
deniable principle, that any supernatural event which, either 
directly or indirectly, contradicts the teaching of the Catho- 
lic Church, has for its author no other than the devil, or 
one of his imps. 

Now, with respect to the third class, in which miracles 



282 



ALETHAUEION. 



are referred to unknown powers of nature, we may say, that 
an experience of six thousand years has given us a sufficient 
knowledge of nature's laws to be certain that it does not re- 
store a dead man to life, nor give sight to a blind man, nor 
feed five thousand with five loaves of bread. 

Infidels who are always snatching at straws, make use of 
the foregoing argument, in order to destroy, if possible, the 
motives for believing the Saviour's divine mission. 

He appealed to the miracles which he performed, as a 
proof that he was sent to teach mankind. Infidels attribute 
them to the occult powers of nature, and attempt to make 
a liar of the Saviour, wh(* referred those wonderful works 
to the Eternal Father. 

Our next will be a continuation. 



CHAPTER LXVIII. 



MIRACLES. 

In the last chapter we spoke of the three different orders 
of miracles. We also took into consideration the means by 
which one may distinguish the wonders of which the powers 
of darkness are capable, from those of the blessed spirits, 
or of the Almighty. 

Satan has a power, whose limits we cannot, with any de- 
gree of accuracy, define. But we may state, with full 
confidence, that if he could only get full play at us, We 
would find ourselves checkmated by him in short order. 

Yet we must remember that there is a wiser and a more 
powerful Being than Satan— our Creator — who takes pity 
on our weakness and will not allow the demon to triumph, 
unless we first prove ourselves rebellious, and desert our 
colors. 

United to God, we are strong and we are wise. But 
separated from Him, the most intellectual man in existence 



ALETHAUEION. 



283 



is but a miserable, blind and helpless shoat, a prey easily 
captured and devoured by the infernal wolves. 

Granting then, as may be done, that Satan has a discre- 
tionary power far more vast than that conceded to any 
tyrant in human shape, past, present, or to come, we need 
not dread his might nor his miracles, as long as we are in 
the House of God. For the Master of that house must 
first be bound before His servants can be injured, or His 
goods rifled. 

Let us now proceed a step farther, and briefly consider 
the possibility of miracles, 

Some modern infidels, making use of the objections 
proposed to themselves, and solved by the scholastic theo- 
logians of the Catholic Church, have sought notoriety by 
giving to these same objections a new setting, and then 
passing them off as gems of thought of their own discov- 
ery. 

These infidel gentlemen give the difficulties they find in 
Catholic theology against points of faith, but not the solu- 
tions, though, side by side on the same page. 

Now it is a well-known fact, that even a common simple- 
ton can ask a question that might take several weeks of 
very hard study from a brilliant scholar to answer — and for 
that matter, he might never answer it. There are some 
mysteries of our faith that are entirely beyond human 
understanding. Possibly the angels themselves do not 
comprehend the mysteries of creation, the Trinity, predesti- 
nation, the providence of God in the government of this 
world, etc. 

But as the simpleton ought not to plume himself on his 
smartness, for asking a question which no one is capable of 
answering, so neither should our infidel friends glorv in 
their wit, when they do nothing more than plagiarize. 

One of the keenest objections to the possibity of miracles 
that the writer has ever come across, is the following : 



284 



ALETHAURION. 



God, iii the beginning, with infinite knowledge and wis- 
dom, established the laws by which the universe is gov- 
erned. These are expressions of His will. Now, any change 
or suspension of such ordinances must come either from 
God Himself or from some other being. The change can- 
not be from a source independent of God, for His will is 
irresistible and almighty. The change or suspension of a 
law of nature, even in one particular case, cannot come 
from the Almighty, for that would imply a change in His 
will which cannot be, for his will is immutable. Hence, no 
change or suspension of a law of nature, even in a particu- 
lar case, can happen, and in consequence such a thing as a 
miracle is impossible. 

Before proceeding to examine into the merits of this ob- 
jection we may observe that it would imply to many other 
things besides miracles. If true it would prove that God is 
not a free being ; it would upset the Catholic doctrine 
regarding the utility of prayer and reduce everything to a 
dead fatalism. But, to point out these consequences does 
not destroy the force of the objection. It is in the study of 
such questions as this that one must take the liberty of dif- 
fering with the poet, when he said, 

'•The proper study of mankind is man.'' 

To be entirely true the line should read thus : 
The proper study of mankind is God. 

Now, speaking about the Divine attributes unless care be 
taken, one is apt to get beyond his depth — up to both ears 
in difficulties. We shall attempt to avoid that, at present, 
by keeping close to the shore. 

By way of answer, then, we may say : I grant that God, 
in the beginning, made laws for the government of the uni- 
verse and that no created power can change them. But, 
by that very act in which He willed the law, He willed also 
the exception. So that the exception is as much a part of 
God's act as the law itself and of equal date with it. 

Taking this view of the case it docs not appear to differ 



ALETHAURION. 



285 



much, as to species, from that of the late Widow Muggins. 
She made a law and had it properly promulgated in the 
family that the children should all be in bed, and covered 
up, precisely at eight o'clock at night — except when their 
Aunt Rickey came to see them, then they could stay up 
until nine. Now, the widow Muggins did not change her 
mind in.allowing the children to remain up an hour longer 
than usual under the circumstances, because this excep- 
tion was included in the first act by which the law was 
made. 

So, also, when God in the beginning established order in 
the universe, He determined that the earth should make a 
complete revolution on its axis once in every twenty-four 
hours, and should continue to do so up to a certain period, 
when, for once, it was to make the same revolution in 
thirty-six hours. This change in the earth's motion implies 
no change in the will of God, for it was included in the 
original act. 

This answer appears to meet the difficulty pretty well, 
says our friend Snipe. Not at all, not at all, says Nosey — 
Mr. Nosey is a metaphysician and knows what he is talking 
about — says he, when God, in the beginning, made the law 
that governs the universe, He also, at the same instant, 
made some exceptions, I grant, but as the act was perfected 
in past time the number of exceptions to the law was also 
determined, and God cannot work a miracle except under 
circumstances already pre-determined. Thus the solution 
that you have given, says Nosey, is only a change from one 
difficulty into another. God's liberty is still impugned. 

It must be confessed that Nosey is somewhat of a philoso- 
pher, very like a whale, so to speak. Hence, to give him 
chase, we must risk ourselves out some distance from the 
shore. 

The fallacy on which the objection is founded consists in 
saying that God in past time made a law. With God there 
is no past and no future. All that we can say of Him, in 



286 



ALETHAURION. 



this regard, may be expressed in the words, He is. The 
act by which He created the universe, and regulates every- 
thing in it, was not one perfected in past time, but is the 
one same, abiding, eternal act. Hence, as regards us, it is 
correct to say, God created the universe but, as regards God, 
it is not correct, for the act of creation was not a transient, 
but an abiding one. 

With this idea of God, as a being entirely of the pres- 
ent, it will not be difficult to see how exemption from the 
action of a law of nature, in a particular case, does not in- 
terfere with a pre-existing law. God lives in the ever pres- 
ent now, and His ever present act creates, conserves, 
changes and regulates existences. 

And since in the Divine Essence there is an infinitude of 
possibilities, the Divine will, can, when it chooses, reduce 
any of these to act, which plainly means that God can per- 
form a miracle when He pleases. Hence, also, when a man 
prays God to forgive him his sins, he does not change the 
will of God, but, by changing hi* own heart, with the aid 
of Divine grace, he fulfills a condition required by the eter- 
nal act for his justification. 

Our next will be a continuation, 



CHAPTER LXIX. 



MIRACLES. 

David Hume, the infidel, in a certain part of his writings, 
says, in substance, that he never, in all his life, saw a mira- 
cle, but he saw and knew a great many men who were given 
to exaggeration and to lies. 

David was, no doubt, correct, when speaking of the great 
number of liars in his day. Their descendants, in our 
times, are neither few nor hard to find. 

But, the fact that there were, and still are, such people in 



ALETHAUEION. 



287 



the world, does not prove that miracles have not been, 
though Hume intended that it should. 

There were many, also, who told the truth, who shed 
their blood for it, and there are plenty who would mount 
the rack again, should circumstances call for that sort of 
evidence. 

It is by the testimony of such as these, and by none other, 
that miracles are proved. 

That the infidel, of whom we are speaking, never saw a 
miracle, is quite possible. But, there were many other 
facts that he never saw, and truths that he never dreamt of, 
that are held as undeniable, notwithstanding, by men far 
more profound than he. 

If Hume had seen a miracle, in all probability, he would 
not have believed it. By the profession of infidelity men 
become paralyzed in error, and no matter under what aspect 
truth is presented, the magnetic current of a depraved will, 
swings them around to unbelief. 

The only cure for infidelity is humiliation, and affliction 
in the flesh. 

God humbles the infidel here, by giving him over to his 
lusts ; and in eternity, by making him a thrall of Beelze- 
bub. 

If we are to put faith in the newspaper reports, it would 
appear that as late as the second of this month, (Febru- 
ary, 1878,) and no farther away than Mauch Chunk, 
Pennsylvania, a real and true miracle was made manifest 
in the person of Amelia Greth. The authorities will, no 
doubt thoroughly investigate the matter, and if there be no 
imposition found, this case will, or ought to be, a sufficient 
answer to those unbelievers who ask why it is that miracles 
always take place in some foreign country, or in days long 
since passed. 

Should the Church authorities discover an imposition, it 
should be at once publicly exposed, and the actors in it 
punished to the utmost limits of the law. 



288 



ALETHAURION. 



We have no need in the Catholic Church, of fraudulent 
miracles, since we have those of Christ, its author and 
finisher, and of the Apostles, its first Bishops, to refer to. 
Not to go back so far, we have in our own times, the mir- 
acles of Lourdes and Knock. No sane man now pretends to 
question the fact that supernatural cures have been affected 
at both those places. 

The circumstances, as given in the daily papers, are cer- 
tainly such as to induce one to believe that a miracle took 
place at Mauch Chunk. 

The woman announced several days before hand, that 
she would die on the Feast of the Purification, and that 
she would remain dead one hour ; that then she would be 
recalled, not only to life, but to perfect health — cured 
completely of that consumption which had caused her 
death. 

Here, then, we have a case similar to that which Rena:n t , 
the Infidel, requires. Hundreds flocked to the house to see 
her die, and they saw her give up the ghost. They waited 
an hour and saw her rise again, at the command of the 
priest who had anointed her. And not alone that, but 
they beheld her restored to health and vigor of body. 
Since this is an extraordinary case, even in the line of mir- 
acles, it is to be hoped that the Ecclesiastical authorities of 
the diocese, in which Mauch Chunk is, will not suffer it to 
pass without the closest scrutiny. 

Miracles are principally for the unbeliever, and as each 
and every one of these could not have been present at the 
time and place, it is eminently proper that the local Church 
authorities should investigate and publicly acknowledge, or 
deny, the miracle, without fear and without favor, as its 
truth or falsity may require. 

We Catholics do not need miracles to make us believe. 
Our faith is not only the substance of things we hope for, 
but also an argument to each one, of things that do not ap- 
pear to his senses. We believe without seeing. 



ALETHAURIOX , 



289 



When some one came running, in great haste, to Louis 
IX, usually called St. Louis, king of France, and told him 
that, in one of the churches in the city, Christ stood forth 
in His human form from the consecrated Host, he expressed 
no wonder, and even refused to go and see. 

He said that for himself, there was no need of a miracle 
to make him believe the doctrine of the real presence. 

"God has not intended this manifestation for me," said 
the King, " but for some others who do not believe." 

Let us again return to our friend Hoie, and divesting his 
argument of all unnecessary flourishes, put it in as simple 
and clean a way as possible. We may state the case thus : 

A miracle is a fact, real or supposed. Its truth or falsity 
is proved by the evidence of one's own senses or by the 
testimony of others. If the weight of evidence is on the 
side of the miracle, then it is only reasonable that it should 
be admitted. If, on the contrary, the most credible wit- 
nesses give testimony in opposition to such a thing, common 
sense would teach us to reject it. 

The case is parallel to that which happened yesterday a 
week ago, in Judge Bullhead's court, at Lawyerviile. 
Ephrex Evans, a colored gentleman of probity, swore he 
saw Abe Jones strike Jeff Anderson, in the melee, over 
the creek, at Wiggins' distillery. Whereas, Polk Hustin, 
another African swore it was not Jones, but Tom Nelson 
that did the striking. Hence, his honor, Judge Bullhead, 
had to decide which witness was the more worthy of belief. 
And, as a matter of course, their previous characters for 
truth entered largely into the case. 

So it must be done also in regard to miracles ; we must 
weigh well the character of the witnesses on both sides. 

We must decide, says the infidel, whether it is more rea- 
sonable to admit that one or even a dozen men have lied, or 
were deceived by their senses, as regards a supernatural oc- 
currence ; or that the laws governing the world have been 
suspended in a particular instance. 

We shall endeavor to answer this in the next chapter. 



290 ALETHAURION. 

CHAPTER LXX. 



MIRACLES, 

Which is it more reasonable to believe : that nature has 
deviated from a known law, in a given instance, or that the 
man, who pretends to have seen such deviation, has not been 
deluded, or has not lied about it? 

To this question, coming as it does, so soon after the 
Mauch Chunk fiasco, one would be disposed to answer at 
once, that it was rather to be expected that the man had 
been deceived, or had sought to deceive others. 

The burden of proof lies with him who pretends to have 
performed, to have seen, or to believe in a miracle. 

In the Catholic Church great care is taken, and, in fact, 
great care is needed, that nothing fraudulent, of a super- 
natural character, be allowed to pass current. The prompt 
action of Archbishop Wood, in that Mauch Chunk affair, is 
proof of it. 

Catholics have sometimes been accused of too much cre- 
dulity in religious matters. It is true we believe, without 
doubting, all that God has revealed, and the Church propo- 
ses for our acceptance. For this we have motives of cred- 
ibility that are excellent beyond all comparison. 

But, outside of that, we are most incredulous. More so 
than Tom Paixe and Bob Ingersoll welded together. We 
cannot, and we obstinately refuse even to try to believe, that 
the man who sees the wonderful order displayed in the 
material universe, and yet says there is no God, is anything 
else but a very insipid fool. 

" The Heavens show forth the glory of God; and the firmament is the 
work of His hands.*' — Ps. xviii, 2. **The fool said in his heart there is 
no God.*'— Ps. xiii, 1. 

Christ having affirmed that he was the Son of God, and 
having proved the same by rising from the dead ; we can- 
not believe that the man who disputes it deserves a higher 
title than that of ignoramus or knave. 



ALETHAURION . 291 

Seeing a Catholic Church with members and not a few of 
them, in every country throughout the known world, with a 
line of Bishops from Pius IX, recently departed, to St. 
Peter, Prince of the Aposiles, we cannot believe that the 
man who denies it to be the Church that Christ built, has 
ever read history with an eye to discover truth. 

We are very incredulous — we Catholics are. We even 
suspect a delusion or something worse, when one of our 
members goes around peddling strange stories about mir- 
acles ; and if filthy lucre happens to be connected, then our 
incredulity shoots up like a balloon on a rampage, and we 
demand an inquest. 

In spiritual things, Catholics believe precisely what they 
ought and no more. We maintain that miracles have been 
performed, and when the Sum-erne Being sees proper, we 
know He can at any time derogate from the general law. 
But as He is all-powerful, we believe that a close scrutiny 
into each reputed case, far from detracting from the good 
effect of a miracle, will only serve to place it in a clearer 
light, and make it redound the more to the glory of Him 
who can alone perform one. 

But, since miracles are of rare occurrence, the burden of 
proof lies with him who affirms. We can, however, charge 
ourselves with it, and run no risk of fainting by the way- 
side. 

That the reader may see how one may have the highest 
certitude attainable, in regard to miracles, we will take, at 
random, an example from the scriptures, and discuss the 
merits of the case. We will come to close quarters by pass- 
ing from abstract discussion to concrete analysis. 

The example is found in St. John's gospel, chapter v. 
It is stated that, in Jerusalem, there was a pond called Pro- 
batica, and that once a year an angel descended and moved 
its waters. After the movement, the first man that touched 
the element was cured of whatever infirmity he might have 
been laboring under. But the first was the only one served. 



292 ALETHAUEION. 

• 

Iii the porches around the pond were persons afflicted 
with all manner of diseases. Each anxious to get the start 
of his neighbor and leap in after the movement of the 
waters. Among them was a wretched creature who had 
been paralyzed for thirty-eight years. During that time he 
had been waiting to see if he could not, by some lucky 
chance, take lead of all others. But he was ever and always 
distanced in the race, for he had not the use of himself — 
poor cripple. 

Finally, after nearly forty years of expectation the Saviour 
came along, and by His Almighty power cured him of the 
paralysis instantaneously. 

Such is the case in point. Now let us lay the matter 
before our Infidel friends in the form of a question. 

Which was it more reasonable : for that paralytic to have 
believed that there was a suspension of a law of nature in 
his case, or to suppose that he was laboring under a delu- 
sion : that he was still unable to walk, and that he was onlv 
dreaming? What proofs had he that he had ever been 
sick? He had the experience of 38 years, the testimony of 
his senses, and especially of the sensus intimus, which con- 
vinced him that his limbs during all that time would not 
obey the behests of his will. He had, moreover, the testi- 
mony of scores of others who daily visited the place aud 
commiserated his pitiable condition. He had every proof 
that a man can have, that he was first sick, and after he was 
told to rise, take up his bed and walk, he had the same 
proofs that he got instantaneously well, and remained so. 

He might have as reasonably doubted his own existence as 
that a miracle had been wrought on him. 

In the second place, what proofs had this man that nature 
permits no exemption from the action of its laws? Had he 
the testimony of his senses? Just the contrary. The senses 
taught him that he was himself an exemption. Had he the 
testimony of others? By no means. On the contrary, for 
38 years he had been accustomed to hear people speak of 



ALETHAUKIOX. 



293 



how this one was cured of leprosy, that one of dropsy, 
another of the palsy, and possibly, a half dozen or more invet- 
erate lunatics related to him how they had been restored to 
sense. The weight of evidence in the case, as stated, was 
certainly on the side of the miracle. 

Let us now pass on a step, and take into consideration 
whether it was more reasonable for the by-standers to have 
believed that a miracle had been wrought, or to have still 
maintained that no exemption can take place. 

What proofs had they of the latter? Their own life-long 
observations, snarls out the Infidel. Very well, are we to 
believe nothing more than what our life-long observations 
have taught us ? 

If so, the writer of this may deny everything that hap- 
pened previous to the 12th of April, 1840. On the other 
hand, what proof had they that there was an exemption 
from nature's law? They had the testimony of their sen- 
ses — actual observation. They could not have been deceived 
in this matter any more than the paralytic himself. A de- 
lusion could not have taken place under the circumstances, 
as narrated in the Scriptures. 

The Pharisees, who would have been most exceedingly 
well pleased to have caught the Saviour in a fraud, did not 
deny its truth ; but found fault because the miracle was 
performed on the Sabbath. 

We may now consider this fact from a third stand 
point. 

Which is more reasonable, that we, of the present day, 
should deny what is said in the Scriptures about this mira- 
cle, or believe that nature permitted an exemption in that 
particular case? 

To answer this question fully, would require that we 
should discuss the motives of credibility for the authenticity 
and veracity of the Scriptures. To do so, at length, does 
not fall within the limits of our present plan, but we may 
ply, in general terms, as follows : 



294 



ALETHAURION . 



Since the Gospel of St. John, in which mention is made 
of the miracle, has, from the time it was first written, been 
regarded as authentic and true by the best and wisest men 
that have lived on earth ; since the Catholic Church, which 
goes back, as an organized society to the day of Pente- 
cost, has ever borne testimony to the truth of what the same 
Gospel relates ; since, in a word, the civilized world, for 
upwards of eighteen centuries, has been of the same belief, 
let the Infidels bring forward real substantial motives for 
denying the truth of what is therein related. 

When there is question of a new miracle, the burden of 
proof lies with him who affirms ; but, when speaking of one 
that has been admitted for ages, then he who denies must 
furnish reasons for his unbelief. 

This is what Infidelity has never been able to do, and there 
is no likelihood that future efforts will be crowned with better 
success. 

In our next we will take up and discuss some well authen- 
ticated cases not found in scripture. 



CHAPTER LXXI. 



MIRACLES. 

In the last chapter, we took one of the many miracles per- 
formed by the Saviour, to show that a person may have the 
same certainty, as regards such a fact, that he has of his 
own existence. 

The reasons there given are also applicable to those super- 
natural works executed by the Apostles. The lame man 
that St. Peter cured at the gate of the temple, which was 
called "the beautiful," knew, by the testimony of his senses, 
that he had been a cripple for a number of years, and was 
equally sure that, with the words "arise and walk," he got 
his footing instantaneously. 



ALETHAURION. 



295 



He had what philosophers call metaphysical certainty of a 
miracle. Those who stood by at the time Peter said the 
words, and saw the cripple straighten his limbs and walk, 
were physically certain that a supernatural work had been 
done. We, of the present day, supported by the authority 
of the Roman Church, strengthened by the testimony of the 
millions of Martyrs, who shed their blood in attestation of 
the truth of all that is related in the scripture — we have 
moral certitude respecting the miracles of Christ and of the 
Apostles. 

The Infidel, who does not wish to admit the doctrine of 
miracles, must in order to be consistent, deny the authenti- 
city and veracity of the New Testament. To do so comes 
easy to him, but to sustain that denial, by solid arguments, 
is another thing. 

Thus far, in every encounter, the Christian philosopher 
has sent the Infidel to the hospital for repairs. 

But, where so much remains to be done, we ought not to 
glory in what has been achieved. If Catholics devoted half 
as much time to the study of their religion as they do to 
reading lascivious stories, in some of the weekly papers, we 
would have fewer avowed Infidels in the land. Each well- 
instructed believer would be like a strong fortress, not only 
impregnable himself, but radiating a salutary inlluence for 
miles around, over-awing error and its champions. But, un- 
fortunately, such is not the case, to any great extent. And 
why is it not thus? 

We have many excellent colleges, in which first-class liter- 
ary, scientifical and classical courses are taught. There is, 
probably, a yearly average of 200 young men sent out from 
them into the great world, with their parchments signed, 
sealed and delivered. Do these young bachelors of art, ex- 
ercise, in religious matters, an influence commensurate with 
the money expended on them by their parents? 

Some, no doubt, do so, but the vast majority do not. 



296 



ALETHAURION. 



And the reason is plain. Theology is not taught, as a regu- 
lar study, in our colleges, and why it is not, has been a mys- 
tery to the writer ever since he was a boy. The average 
graduate, on exhibition day, sings off his speech and receives 
his diploma amidst the clapping of hands and general re- 
joicing of friends. 

The rector of the the college, without a smile on his face, 
or even a twinkle in his eye, gravely tells the assembled 
spectators that, not for years past, have they had a more 
promising class of graduates. Then, turning to the young 
hopefuls, he conjures them to make a judicious use of that 
great power which learning gives. 

Our bachelor of arts next leaves his alma mater, as full 
of conceit as an e°'g is of meat. He is too much afraid of 
making an injudicious use of his great learning to ever think 
of fooling with so dangerous an agent. People's heads 
might get turned, you know ! And thus inflated, he treads 
the streets of his native village, until he runs across the 
town blacksmith, who has, for a time past, been devoting 
his leisure hours to the study of Infidel tracts ; and the 
graduate gets floored. He then begins to tell his friends 
that the blacksmith is nothing but a shallow mechanic at best, 
sind that he disdains to have another word with so 
ignorant a fellow. There ought to be in each and every one 
of our chartered colleges a chair of theology, taught in 
English. 

There is no need that we should here attempt to show 
what good results would follow from such a course. They 
are evident at a glance. 

In our seminaries, the science is taught reasonably well, 
though, in some places, none too well to boast of. If the 
same were done in colleges, the graduate would become a 
powerful ally of the pastor in the dissemination of religious 
knowledge, whereas, he is now of little or no advantage, be- 
cause he has only been taught the shorter catechism, and 
that in a flimsy way. 



ALETHAURION. 



297 



At the suggestion of Archbishop Hughes, there was, at 
one time, added to the regular course, in some of our con- 
vent schools, a branch of learning called domestic economy. 
The girls were taught to cook without burning their fingers, 
and to know by experience the difference between a griddle 
and a flat-iron. He judged well and wisely that young 
ladies would have need of that sort of knowledge in after 
life, and his suggestions were well received and acted upon. 

Should not boys also be taught in colleges a science they 
w r ill, in after life, have so much need of, unless they wish 
to crawl through life as apostates or poltroons? 

Let us now again return to ourselves. We started out 
with the intention of showing that miracles have been per- 
formed since the time of the Apostles, and here. we are 
moralizing on other matters. 

Such is the character of the human mind, full of wander- 
ings and vagaries. Yet the best style of writing may be 
that which most nearly corresponds to the unsystematic 
working of each individual mind. We like to hear others 
speak on the plan of our own thoughts. And the man or 
woman who thinks systematically, without effort, is as 
much of a rarity as an Indian brave who loves work. 

Protestantism, which borders on Infidelity, is willing to 
admit that Christ and the Apostles worked miracles. But 
since their time, our separated brethren maintain that such 
direct manifestations of the providence of God have ceased 
entirely. 

It is the same old case of the fox and the wild grapes. 
Neither Protestantism, nor any other false religion, has 
ever been able to produce a miracle, and for obvious rea- 
sons. Only God can work one, and He will not contradict 
His word by putting the seal of His aproval upon a false 
system. 

But in the true Church miracles have taken place, off 
and on, from the days of the Apostles. Let us take a few 
well attested examples. 



298 



ALETHAURION. 



St. Justin, martyr, Apol. 2 n. 6, Dial, with Try ph. n. 2, 
bears witness to the fact that, by the name of Christ, evil 
spirits were expelled, and that the prophetic spirit has 
passed from the Jews to the Christians. Ireneus, Hceers, 
ii, 56-57, says that by the imposition of hands many infirm 
persons were cured In his day, and some dead restored to 
life. 

Origen, Cont. Cels. iii, n. 24, says he saw many sick 
persons cured by the invocation of the name of Christ, and 
by the sign of the Cross. St. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan, 
fifth century, tells us he was an eye witness of the miracles 
at the tombs of the martyrs, Sts. Gervase and Protase. 
St. Augustine, City of God, xxii, c. 8, speaks of the mir- 
acles performed in his day by the relics of St. Stephen. 
These are enough for the early ages. 

As regards our own times, we may state that the miracles 
of Lourdes and Knock are too well-known and too well 
authenticated, to need insertion in this place. Finally, 
what can the heretics of our times say" about the liquifaction 
of the blood of St. Janarius ; that perpetual miracle, that 
no one can deny nor call in doubt. 

We leave these crumbs for our separated brethren to pick 
at for the present, and in our next, we will introduce the 
reader to a chapter on apparitions. 



CHAPTER LXXII 



apparitions . 

Of spirits there are two kinds, the created and the uncre- 
ated. The latter, which is identical with God, is not sub- 
divisible ;but, of the former, we have three principal classes — 
the good angels, the demons, and the souls of men separa- 
ted from their bodies. Besides these, there may also be 
others, but no knowledge of them has been revealed to us. 



ALETHAUEION. 



299 



It is possible God may have peopled the moon and the plan- 
ets that belong to the solar sj^stem, with rational creatures, 
having souls, more or less like ours ; but we have no proofs 
that he has done so ; and we may never be permitted to 
know whether or not he has. 

The range of human knowledge is very far from being 
infinite, and, no doubt, there are many truths regarding the 
spirit world that will never be dreamt of in our philosophy 
as lonor as we are in the flesh. 

But, though our knowledge of the supernatural is limited, 
still, what we do possess, is true knowledge, never to be con- 
tradicted by any revelations that may be made in the future 
life. Our mental vision will then, in all probability, be ren- 
dered more telescopic, and truths we now see, as it were, 
by starlight, will appear under the full blaze of a noonday 
sun ; but the same truths still. 

There is the same stability in the moral that we find in 
the physical order ; and we may be very certain that no 
future event will ever contradict what God has once revealed. 

The subject of apparitions has, within the past twenty 
years, called forth some attention in these United States, 
on account of its connection with what its votaries take to 
be an entirely new system of religion — spiritualism. This 
is nothing more nor less than the theurgy of heathen nations, 
practiced both before and after the Saviour's coming. 

The gross ignorance in some cases, and the vicious lives 
led by its professors in others, prevent them from seeing 
and acknowledging this fact. 

In the third and fourth centuries of our era, the science 
falsely so called, of theurgy, or spiritualism, was carried to a 
high state of perfection, more so than now. The apostates 
Julian, Poephyeius, Jamblicus, Maximus, and others, not 
only believed in it, but wrote books to show that, by certain 
observances and invocations, one mi^ht conciliate the 2:ood 
will of the spirits, and by their aid do wonderful works. 

It is needless to say that such teachings were condemned 



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ALETHAURION. 



by the Church. Porphyrius, indeed, maintained that it 
was not necessary to worship the Supreme God at all ; and 
that honor and veneration were to be given, in preference, 
to those lesser spirits, because they alone appeared to inter- 
est themselves m human affairs. It will not be difficult for 
a prudent man to see the cloven foot and several joints of 
the dragon's tail in all this. 

Such also appears to be the principle that animates, and 
gives a sombre interest to modern spiritualism. 

God, the Creator, is kept out of sight, and what are sup- 
posed to be the souls of departed friends come on the stage, 
and speak and act in a manner to leave the impression that 
what Christ and the Apostles have taught us respecting the 
future life, is all a mistake. 

According as Christianity progressed, in the early ages, 
theurgy declined ; a sure proof that the two principles were 
antagonistic. As stated before, theurgy has, within our 
own times, taken out a new lease for these United States. 
And were it not for the fact that the civil war called men's 
attention from the elysian fields, in the realm of shades, to 
tented fields beneath the moon, it is probable that many now 
professing a bastard Christianity, such as all heresy is, 
would be, at the present writing, full blown spiritualists. 

As happened in the first ages, spiritualism has also had 
among us a certain development of parts. The devil is too 
wary a captain to tell everything he knows all at once. He 
understands that the pleasures of hope are sometimes more 
savory than those from things actually possessed. Like the 
managers among the Freemasons, he makes his dupes be- 
lieve there is something greater yet behind the curtain ; and 
indeed, there is — it is himself. 

At the start, spiritualism in America consisted in little 
else besides mysterious rapping on the doors and furniture 
of rooms occupied by persons who were, from that fact, 
supposed to be favorites of the spirits. Tables and other 
movables were next ma$le to waltz around the floor, and this 



I 



ALETHAURION. 



301 



was attributed to animal magnetism. The phrase was a 
convenient one to give name to a force which no one then 
understood, nor understands now. 

The next step was to establish, by the rappings, a com- 
munication between the medium and, the spirits, so that 
there might be an exchange of ideas. This was effected, 
and gave satisfaction for a while. After this, came for the 
medium, the states of coma and clairvoyance. In the for- 
mer, he or she, generally she, remained as if dead, utterly 
unconscious of all that was going on around her. But, in 
the latter state, her eyes were opened to things happening 
hundreds of miles away, which were described to those near 
by with fidelity and accuracy. 

The following narrative, as apropos to the matter in hand, 
will not be considered out of place in this connection. We 
suppress the names of persons for obvious reasons : 

Some twenty years ago there lived in, or near, the town 

of E , Maryland, a man who owned a negro girl that 

was a medium or pythoness. This girl had the reputation 
of being, moreover, a clairvoyant. But, unlike that other 
mentioned in the Scriptures, she was a source of bothera- 
tion rather than gain to her master. There were, as a mat- 
ter of course, persons who would not believe. So in or- 
der to have the case fairly tested, it was agreed to hold, 
on a certain day, a spiritual seance in town. Many were 
invited, and among others, according to my informant 
a certain Catholic gentleman who lives, at present, in the 
South, and on the left bank of the Father of Waters. 

When the day came, the slave-holder was on hand with his 
pythoness, an unmistakble African, presenting a rare con- 
trast of ebony and ivory, and somewhat elated withal, at her 
importance, in the estimation of white folks. 

The pythoness, having gone into the state of clairvoyance, 
was asked divers questions, concerning persons and things at 
a distance, to all of which she returned correct answers. 
She described places and public buildings in Baltimore, 



302 



ALETHAURION. 



where she was known to have never been, and gave a ver- 
batim report of part of a speech that was then being deliv- 
ered at a political meeting in the same city. She accurately 
described the interior of the Catholic Church, in the town, 
though she had never been inside of it. She spoke of the 
candlesticks on the altar, and the light burning before it. 

When asked what that light was for, she said it was to 
honor something kept on the altar, inside of a little door 
that was there. But, when requested to tell what that 
something really was, she became speechless, and, with 
foam on her lips, she went into a spasm, and heaved and 
kicked, like the Sibyl of Cumae, which brought the confer- 
ence to an abrupt end. 

After clairvoyance, in the spiritualistic order, came direct 
manifestations, that is, the forms and features of departed 
friends appeared to the mediums, and to other favored per- 
sons. The best example of this kind that now occurs to the 
writer, is that which happened in Virginia City, Nevada, 
some four years ago, which the reader, in all probability, 
recollects. 

The latest development consists in the materialization of 
the spirit. The departed friend not only appears, natural 
as in life, but converses of old times, and makes himself 
quite agreeable and at home, in the company of his former 
associates. The spiritualists look forward to a still brighter 
era, when our departed kinsfolk will return and reside with 
us in a yet more permanent and satisfactory way. 

Thus developments will go on, until the delusion is dis- 
pelled by the rays of that Faith which alone sheds a true 
light on man's future destiny. 

In our next we will speak of the apparitions of God. 



ALETHAURION. 



303 



CHAPTER LXXIII. 



THEOPHANIE. 

This word signifies the Divine apparition — the manifesta- 
tion to mortal eyes of no less a being than the Almighty. 
Theologians disagree as regards its reality, and the question 
is one not easily solved. Those who deny the theophanie, 
entrench themselves behind what we read in the book of Ex- 
odus, xxxii, 20. 

It is stated, that Moses, having asked God to show Him- 
self, received this answer : 

"Thou canst not see my face, for man shall not see me and live." 

They who believe in the theophanie also bring forward 
texts of Scripture, in support of their position. 

It is evident, say they, from the Old Testament, that God 
appeared and spoke to Adam, under some sensible form, in 
the Garden of Eden. It is no less sure that he manifested 
himself to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, to Moses, and to 
many of the prophets. 

Neither is it likely that a mere angel would have said to a 
Jewish law giver, " I am the God of thy father, the God of 
Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob," Exodus, 
iii, 6. Nor to the children of Israel, assembled at the foot 
of Mount Sinai, "lam the Lord your God, who brought 
you out of the land of Egypt." 

From these texts it would appear that it was not an angel, 
but God himself, that spoke on those occasions. 

Yet, we are told, on the other hand, Acts vii, 37, that it 
was an angel spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, and in the 
same chapter verse 53, St. Stephen says to the Jews, 4 4 You 
have received the law by the disposition of angels." 

Let us see if we cannot reconcile these belligerents. Some 
of the Fathers have maintained that the second person of 
the Blessed Trinity, viz : the Word of God, appeared at 



304 



ALETHAURION. 



least on some occasions, to the patriarchs and prophets of 
the Old Law. This apparition of the Son of God to man, 
before having been born of the Virgin Mary, is precisely 
what theologians understand by the theophanie. There are 
not wanting those who have even hazarded the opinion that 
the high priest Melchisedec, to whom Abraham paid 
tithes , was no other than the Word, who, before His incar- 
nation, had taken human form and lived here for a time 
among men, though His body was by no means real, but 
only such to outward appearance. 

St. Paul, Hebrews, vii, speaking of this mysterious man, 
who figures only once in sacred history, calls him the king 
of justice, the king of peace, titles which the ancient prophets 
gave to the future Messiah. 

He also says that Melchisedec was 44 without father, 
without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning 
of days nor end of life, but likened into the Son of God, 
continueth a priest forever." 

Commentators explain away the force of this very singu- 
lar text by saying, that he is reputed to have had neither 
father nor mother, beginning of days nor end of life, be- 
cause mention is not made of these facts in Scripture. More- 
over, say those who are not willing to admit that sort of a 
theophanie, if Melchisedec and the Divine Word had been 
one and the same person, St. Paul could not have said that 
he was likened to the Son of God. A person who is likened 
to another is evidently not that other. 

We do not here wish to either affirm or deny in the case 
as stated, for one side looks as reasonable as the other. 

Since it is certain that God can manifest himself to man 
under whatever shape he pleases, it is likewise true, that he 
can, at pleasure, prolong such, for days, months or years. 

Let us return to that objection against the theophanie 
founded on what is said in Acts vii, that it was an angel 
spoke to Moses ; that the law was given by the disposition 
of angels, etc. There is really no difficulty here presented, 



ALETHAURION. 



305 



if we remember that the word angel expresses, not the na- 
ture, but the office of those spirits. 

The expression means a messenger, and is sometimes 
applied even to man in the Scriptures. 

The prophet Isaias, according to the Septuagint, ix, 6, 
calls the future Messiah the angel of the great council. 
Hence, the employment of that word in Acts is no proof 
against the theophanie. The Second Persou could, with 
propriety, have been called an angel, while making known 
to mankind what had been decided in the great council — 
viz : by the most Holy Trinity. 

As regards what is said in Exodus, that man cannot see 
God and live, we may answer that the words evidently refer 
to the beatific vision which the just enjoy in the future life. 
As long as we live here, we cannot see God as he appears 
to the saints in heaven, because of the grossness of our in- 
tellects. Our entire being would have to undergo a trans- 
formation preparatory to such an event. With our present 
faculties we could not take in so much ; for, if we some- 
times find a difficulty in understanding earthly things, how 
much more those heavenly scenes. 

A teacher may instruct his pupils in sciences, because they 
are rational, and have minds capable of grasping and retain- 
ing such truths ; but it requires no argument to convince us 
that it would be a loss of time, should one attempt to teach 
poetry to a sow and pigs, or metaphysics to a cage of wild 
usses. 

Poetry is not farther above the comprehension of swine 
than are many heavenly truths beyond ours ; though Infidels 
would have us believe that men are now so wise as to be 
nearly on a level with the Deity. 

But the greatest theophanie of all was that which took 
place at the birth of the Son of God. As he is the center 
figure of creation, so his appearance in human shape, true 
God and true man, is the event, excellent beyond ail others, 



« 



306 



ALETHAURION . 



in this world's history. It is a mysterious fact, that, some- 
thing upwards of eighteen centuries ago, there lived, on 
this earth, a man, who was the Almighty God, Father, Son 
and Holy Ghost, the creator and conserver of all things, 
visible and invisible. 

A being, who could, by one simple act of His will, anni- 
hilate time and space by putting a period to all co-existing 
and successive things, of which time and space are but the 
relations. 

Our next will be about the angels. 



CHAPTEE LXXIV. 

THE ANGELS. 

All we know from scripture and tradition concerning 
angels, whether good or bad, may be placed under some 
one of the following heads : Their existence, their nature, 
their duties, their grace, the fall of many of them, their 
punishment, their attempts to lead men from the paths of 
rectitude. 

St. Thomas Aquinas, sometimes called the angelic doc- 
tor, on account of the clearness of his perceptions, has, in 
his Summa Theologica, many interesting speculations in 
their regard. 

Suarez, another renowned theologian, wrote an entire 
volume in folio about them. But, as big books are not 
much in vogue now, we shall endeavor to condense, putting 
on the stage only what may please and instruct. 

The existence of angels is so clearly taught in scripture 
that, to quote particular passages, would seem a superfluity. 
Not only the Jews, but even Pagan nations believed in them. 
The Sadducees, an unimportant sect, existing in our Saviour's 
time, along with denying the immortality of the soul, refused 
also to believe there were in existence any such being. 



ALETHAURION. 



307 



But, as those sectarians were comparatively few and ex- 
tremely ignorant, their refusal to believe does not interfere 
with the chain of traditional evidence in proof of angelic 
existence, any more than the ravings of a few Infidels of 
our times can be said to contradict the universal belief of 
mankind in the existence of a Supreme Being. 

Concerning the nature of angels it may be said that they 
are complete immaterial substances. We say complete 
because not created for union with any other. Our souls, 
on the contrary, though spiritual, are not complete, because 
of a nature to inhabit and be united with our bodies. 

Hence, the resurrection of the body and its reunion with 
the spirit, may be regarded as necessary to the soul's entire 
perfection. 

Here, also, we may take notice of an error which we 
sometime find among the people. The fond mother who 
has lost her little infant tries to console herself by imagining 
that he is now metamorphosed into a cherub. She is mis- 
taken ; yet, it would not be prudent to tell her so, for fear 
of being thought invidious, and recorded an enemy of the 
family. 

Some of the ancient fathers of the Church, such as Ter- 
tullian, Origen and Clement, of Alexandria, were of the 
opinion that the angels had bodies, but of a very subtle 
nature, such as that of our Saviour after His resurrection. 

This opinion, which, though not heretical, yet approaches 
thereto, is no longer tenable, as will appear from a decision 
of the fourth Council of Lateran, Cap. Firmiter. 

According to the common opinion of theologians, the 
angels are divided into three hierarchies, and each of 
these into three orders or choirs. The first comprises Ser- 
aphs, Cherubs and Thrones ; the second, Denominations, 
Virtues and Powers ; the third, Principalities, Archangels 
and Angels. 

As regards the duties of those blessed spirits, we can 
have but little to say since but little has been revealed to 



308 



ALETHAURION. 



us on the subject. We may presume that their primary 
duty is to praise God, and in general to execute His com- 
mands, according to the words of St. Paul, Heb. i, 14 : 

" They are all ministering spirits, sent to minister, on account of those 
who receive the inheritance of salvation." 

Catholics believe that each individual, born into this 
world, has, at the hour of his birth, appointed to him a 
guardian angel, who is his companion through life, and 
never abandons him until the soul is separated from the 
body by death. It is well, however, to bear in mind that, 
though it is not of faith that the angels keep guard over 
mankind in general, yet, it is not of faith that each man and 
woman has a guardian ansrel of his own. 

Some very ancient writers, such as Hermas, Methodius, 
Origen, Athena goras, Epiphanius and Theodoret, were 
indeed more prodigal of angelic service. They spoke as if 
those blessed spirits guarded not only individual men, but 
also cattle, trees and plants. 

Such an opinion was never approved by the Church, and, 
in fact, it has the appearance of stretching matters to the 
snapping point. 

That angels are entrusted with the care of men, may 

easily be gathered from Matthew, xviii, 10. 

" See that you do not condemn one of these little ones; for I say to 
you, that their angels in Heaven always see the face of my father." 

Possibly some of our readers may now ask us to tell at 
what time were the angels first created, and how long 
Lucifer and his followers remained faithful, also the num- 
ber of those that fell, as compared with the others that did 
not. 

We answer according to the light given us. The period 
of their creation is unknown. If we descend to probabili- 
ties, it would appear reasonable to say their creation was 
coeval with that of the material universe. Neither would 
there be any great extravagance in holding that some of 



ALETH AURION . 



309 



those we now regard as angels, may have been the inhabi- 
tants of this earth before the creation of the present race 
of Adam. 

When the day of final judgment shall have come for us, 
the Supreme Being may again people this orb with a dif- 
ferently shaped race of mortals, as profoundly ignorant of 
us as we now are of any other that may have existed here 
before us. 

As regards the length of time that passed from the 
creation of the angels to the fall of Lucifer, we have no 
means of arriving at a certain knowledge. Aquinas is of 
opinion, that the moment of his creation was that of his 
rebellion, which may be regarded as the most probable. 
For angels being by nature, simple intelligences, do not 
require length of time to arrive at full intellectual per- 
fection. 

The angels were all created in the grace and friendship of 
God, but in a state of probation. One act was to have 
brought them never ending glorv or irretrievable ruin. 
The sin of those who fell was pride. We do not know, 
however, what was given them by the Almighty as a test of 
their love and obedience. Some say He proposed for their 
adoration the future sacred humanity of our Lord. But 
Lucifer, seeing his own great superiority to man, refused, 
and with a third of the heavenly host, who had looked up 
to him as a leader, was expelled from the presence of God 
and condemned to eternal misery. 

.Since the angels are pure spirits, it troubles some of our 
Infidel friends to know how they can take bodies not subject 
to the ordinary laws of matter. Others persist in regarding 
all such apparitions as entirely subjective, that is, as having 
no reality outside the brain of him who pretends to have 
seen them — like the snakes seen by one who is in the hor- 
rors. 

But it will scarcely do to put the patriarchs and other • 



310 ALETHAURION. 

holy men, both of the Old and New Law, in the same 
category with confirmed drunkards. 

Moreover, how do we know that the toads and snakes 
seen by the inebriate have not an objective reality? Why 
does he see dragons and horrible forms instead of things 
more pleasing to contemplate? Arise ye Infidels, and 
explain. 

Oar next will be about the fallen angels and their deeds 
'of darkness. 



CHAPTER LXXV. 



THE DEVIL. 

This distinguished character needs no lengthy introduction 
at our hands. He is well, though not favorably, known to 
all men. Some modern wretches have tried to lecture him 
out of office and existence. But he yet lives, and will get 
even some day with his mercenary persecutors. 

The subject of our remarks first saw light in heaven, and 
was such a beautv that he ^ot the name of Lucifek. He 
was the most favored of all the angelic host, but proved 
ungrateful, as, from a creature and a subject, he sought to 
elevate himself to an equality with the Omnipotent. 

Men sometimes imitate Lucifer in this particular. 
Raised to positions, to which merit does not entitle them, 
they make war on their benefactors. 

Since man has not betimes the power to undo what he has 
done, nor to cast down the unworthy, whom he has elevated, 
it becomes of importance to him, when in power, to put 
forward only the virtuous and the just. Rulers suffer more 
through the short-comings of favorites than by the malice 
of their enemies. 

God can allow the wicked to rise and prosper for a time, 
• because He has the power to set bounds to the evil they may 



ALETHAURION. 



311 



do. The impious He can permit to succeed, that their final 
discomforture may be the more signal — toUuntur in altwn 
ut lapsu graviori ruant, says the Latin proverb. 

But the providence of man must discriminate, in order to 
be conformed, in the first place, in the eternal fitness of 
things, and in the second, toward off ruin which will surely 
come whenever a great principle is disregarded. 

By that in which a man has sinned most, by the same shall 
he be most bitterly punished. The unworthy creature be- 
comes the torment of his creator. 

After having raised the standard of revolt, Lucifer ceased 
to shine in the heavens, and was exiled to a kingdom made 
expressly for himself and his followers for all time. There 
he now reigns, as ugly as he was once beautiful. 

Some of our readers may have asked themselves the ques- 
tion, why such a difference was made between the sin of our 
first parents and that of the fallen angels. Lucifer sinned 
but once, and, on the instant, he was condemned without 
hope for the future. Adam sinned, but though he, too, was 
punished by expulsion from Eden, yet the hope of a future 
Redeemer was not withheld. 

Men, at the present day, often sin mortally, and are 
rarely struck dead on the instant, but given time for repent- 
ance. Why such discrimination in our favor? We reply, 
first of all, that on questions of this sort, we do not wish to 
put on our opinions any other label than a may be so. 

Yet, there is reason, and a most excellent one, for each 
act of God, though man, in his shortness of vision, may not 
be able to see it. In the present instance, we may possibly 
find a cause why justice was exercised in the case of Lucifer, 
and mercy in that of Adam, by taking note of the difference 
between the human and the angelic nature, 

Angels are simple intelligences. Whatever they are ca- 
pable of understanding at all is perfectly comprehended in 
all its bearings in one instant. No portion of their knowl- 
edge lies dormant. It is all present to them at one and the 
same time, but without confusion of parts. 



312 



ALETHAURION. 



When a man writes a speech, and then learns it off, for 
the purpose of declamation, he may be said to know that 
speech. But his knowledge is only consecutive, not simul- 
taneous. It is thus, also, with most, if not all, his other 
acts. 

The memory is defective, the understanding more so, and 
consequently the act of the will is rarely perfect, either for 
good or for evil. 

With an angel, the case is different. The very first act 
of the angelic will was perfect. Hence, eternal union with 
God was the result among the good and eternal hatred 
among the others. 

The redemption of the bad angels became impossible, be- 
cause their entire being had become adverse to God, and de- 
praved. Any attempt to eons-ert Lucifer may, therefore, 
be given up as a fruitless undertaking. If Adam had be- 
come totally depraved, as some of the sects maintain, his 
redemption would also have been out of the question. 

Notwithstanding the condition of man is such, during his 
probationary term here on earth, that he never need des- 
pair, even though his sins may be as red as scarlet, still he 
also, during his mortal life, may become totally depraved. 

This deplorable condition is brought about by the sin 
against the Holy Ghost. The will thus becomes polarized 
in iniquity, and the man who has committed it will never be 
forgiven, because he will never repent- 
After having been expelled from heaven, and the gates 
closed behind him, Lucifer next turned his attention to- 
wards Father Adam and his youthful, vain, and unsuspect- 
ing bride. As by the fall he had lost none of his brilliant 
talents, but only his beauty, the seduction of the pair was 
easily accomplished. 

And, so satisfactory was the first attempt, that he and his 
imps have kept up the business ever since, with good suc- 
cess, so far. 

The belief in the existence of Lucifer and other evil 



ALETHAURION. 



313 



spirits, no matter by what names they may b3 known, is as 
old as creation, and as wide spread as the human family. 
All which shows a primitive revelation on the subject, the 
truth of which has been confirmed by the observation of 
ages, and even by the Saviour himself. 

The principal and best authenticated apparition of Luci- 
fer, is that mentioned in the Gospel, where it is stated he 
took our Lord up into a very high mountain and showed 
Him all the kingdoms of the earth and the glory of them ; 
promising at the same time to give Him all these things, if 
falling down He would adore. 

It would appear from this that he did not know at the 
time the real character of the person he was addressing. 
From which fact we mav gather that, though knowing, there 
are yet some things beyond his ken. 

In subsequent ages we find, in some writers, frequent men- 
tion of diabolical apparitions. And it must be said that 
many of the stories told of his sable majesty are fine yarns, 
lacking only proof and good sense, to make them blood 
curdling. Gorres, a Bavarian writer of the last century, 
has collected into his work, Mystique Diabolique, many 
such curious and shadowy legends. 

Luther tells of how Satan appeared to himself, and 
argued him out of the custom of saying mass, which he had 
kept up until then. 

Many are the stories written down in books, especially in 
the lives of the Saints, detailing the weird deeds of Satan. 
But we pass by all such, and will only give the following, 
the facts of which were communicated to the writer some 
years ago by an intimate friend, who had them from his 
own father, and he from a gyrovag bag-piper. 

There was, toward the close of the last century, yet stand- 
ing, in the south of Ireland, an old castle that had the repu- 
tation of being haunted. No record could be found to show 
by whom it had been built, or when. It had, moreover, 



314 



ALETHAURION. 



been tenant-less for a period reaching beyond the recollec- 
tion of the oldest inhabitant ; and many were the legends 
afloat among the country people in regard to what had been 
seen and heard within its walls. 

Few, if any, would venture near the place by night ; and 
the school children blessed themselves, said their prayers 
and ran by it in the day time. 

The mortar used in its construction was said to have been 
a composition of lime, sand and human blood — a reason why- 
it was so hard. But most terrible of all were the dungeons 
underground, where the skeletons of murdered women and 
children added horror to the darkness and the gloom. 

Moans also had been heard there more than once on All 
Souls' night, mingled with the sighing of the autumnal blasts ; 
and belated travelers told of how they had listened to un- 
earthly screams and cries of murder, wafted on the mid- 
night gale, from the direction of the haunted castle. 

There were some wiio did not believe these things, and of 
the number w T as Jack O' Disney, the bell-wether of all the 
scapegraces in the neighborhood. 

Jack said he did nut believe in ghosts, and that if he 
could only get company, he would go some night and chal- 
lenge BoTcaugh JDhuv to a single or four-hand rubber. 

Two others, almost as hardened, volunteered to accom- 
pany Jack ; and a third, picked up on the way, was dragged 
along, much against his will, into the main hall of the evil- 
omened castle. 

Having lighted a lire, they took seats and a drink each as 
the prelude to a social game, as they called it. Time passed 
rapidly on until the hour of midnight came. Then a sound 
like the passing wing of an eagle was heard at a window to 
the left, and the next instant a whirlwind swept down the 
chimney, filling the hall with smoke, dust and soot. 

When these had cleared away, on looking toward the 
hearth, O, horrible to relate ! There stood the Bokaugh 
JDhuv, w T ith his hands locked behind, gazing intently at the 



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315 



party. That look ! that look ! It had in it all the venom 
of hell. An enormous head, shaped like that of a ball, 
with horns and shaggy hair, almost touched the ceiling. A 
body of human form, but black as the outer darkness, 
rested, like an immense puncheon, on a pair of crooked legs, 
ono of which ended in a club, and the other in a cloven foot. 
This deformity, coupled with his ebon hue, caused him to 
be known among the peasantry as the Bokaugh Dhuv, or 
4 4 Black Cripple." He had been seen time out of mind, 
at stated periods, to enter his castle, about dusk in the 
evening. But he had never appeared on the place to any 
one after cock-crow. 

As the appearance of a comet was to the ancients an indi- 
cation of war, so each open visit of the Bokaugh to the 
castle foreboded calamity of some kind. 

The last time he had been seen was the day before the 
Balleyea races, when eleven peelers were clubbed to death, 
and five others, who had attempted to escape, in a canoe, 
were capsized and drowned. Thus his name had become a 
terror. 

Jack dropped from his stool in a swoon ; and a mastiff, 
that had followed one of the others, an animal that had 
never shown fear before, now crouched at his master's feet 
and shook. The Bokaugh next advanced on Jack, and, 
seizing him by the ear, lifted him off the floor, to the ceil- 
ing, and let him drop, with a thud. Then said he, with a 
diabolical laugh, 4 'I' 11 hang you without a rope, because you 
deserve it, and then attend to these other presumptous 
wretches.' 

Three charred dead bodies were found next day ; and a 
fourth, beaten black and blue, from his heels up, first told 
this horrible story of the Bokaugh Dhuv. 

The bodies of the slain were buried at Balinorig, near 
where the road crosses the stream, at low water, and the 
castle was levelled on the following year. 

In our next we treat of future punishment. 



316 



ALETHAUEION. 



CHAPTER LXXYI. 

CONCERNING HELL. 

Hell is that state or place where all who die in mortal sin 
are punished, in proportion to their guilt. It is opposed to 
heaven, where those who have lived justly here receive a 
reward, corresponding to their merits. 

Almost everything that can be said on this subject may 
be placed under some one of the following heads : Is hell a 
reality ? Where is it located ? What is the character of the 
punishments endured there by the reprobate? Will those 
torments last forever? 

In papers like these, we have not space to more than skim 
those questions. But inasmuch as they are of long stand- 
ing, we have the satisfaction of knowing that, by this time, 
the cream has pretty much all got to the surface. Those 
who love lighter diet, may go deeper and drink to satiety. 
But, for our part, we have no taste for skimmed milk, and 
shall offer none to the reader. 

Is it a reality? The human race, in past ages, believed so, 
at least. And with comparatively few exceptions, the same 
view of the case is held now by all nations, tribes and 
tongues. 

Hence, the burden of proof lies with those who wish to 
be regarded as exceptions to the general rule, a burden 
which they cannot bear. 

The most ancient nations, of which history gives us a 
knowledge, were the Chaldeans, Egyptians, Jews, Greeks 
and Romans. 

That the Chaldeans believed in a hell, even Infidels ad- 
mit, and they attempt to explain the existence of the same 
belief among the Jews, by saying they got it from their con- 
querors, during the Babylonian capativity. The ancient 



ALETHAURION. 



317 



Egyptians not only believed in the immortality of the soul, 
and the doctrine of rewards and punishments, but also in the 
resurrection of the body. 

The practice of mumifying their dead had its origin in 
the desire to preserve the body, until the day of resurrection. 

It was also the custom among them, when one died, to 
hold a trial over his remains. Witnesses were sworn, and 
required to state what kind of a life he had led. 

If the judge discovered, from the evidence, that he had 
been satisfactorily moral, the body was given over to his 
relatives, to be embalmed, but, if the life led had been a 
vicious one, then the carcass was allowed to return to dust. 
This trial was an emblem of that other, which the Egyptians 
believed took place in the spiritual and invisible order. 

So far as the Greeks and Romans are concerned, we have 
in their classic writings, the most abundant proofs of their 
belief in the doctrine of rewards and punishments. There 
were some amongst them, as there are in our day, who 
questioned, and affected to know better than go with the 
common herd. But these were the few and the exceptions. 

The stories of Tantalus, condemned to everlasting hun- 
ger and thirst, of Sisyphus, compelled to roll a huge stone 
up a hill, whose summit he could never reach, of Ixion and 
his wheel, and many other myths, are nothing more nor less 
than allegorical expressions of the common belief in a pun- 
ishment hereafter. 

So far as the Jews are concerned, the case is yet clearer. 
The Hebrews of our day not only believe in hell, but also in 
purgatory. Certainly, they have not invented those doc- 
trines, but have received them from their ancestors. And, 
in order to put this yet more clearly before the reader, we 
may quote here the words of Josephus Flavius, a learned 
Jew who flourished during the reign of the Emperor Ves- 
pasian, about sixty years after our Saviour. 

In his dissertation of Hades, Josephus uses the following 
words : 



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ALETHAURION . 



" In this region there is a certain place set apart, as a lake of unquench- 
able fire, wherein we suppose no one hath hitherto been cast; but it is 
prepared for a day afore -determined by God, in which one righteous 
sentence shall deservedly be passed upon all men ; when the unjust, and 
those that have been disobedient of God, and have given honor to such 
idols as have been the vain operations to the hands of men, as to God 
himself, shall be judged to this everlasting punishment; while the just 
shall obtain an incorruptible and never fading kingdom. These are now 
indeed confined in Hades, but not in the same place wherein the just are 
confined."' 

The passage needs no explanation, for it expresses well 
enough the belief of not only Flavius himself, but also of 
the Israelites of his day. # 

We pass now from Josephus' writings to the New 
Testament, which, for the present, we regard simply in a 
historical light. It will not be necessary to quote particu- 
lar passages, for no one will deny that frequent allusions to 
hell are to be found in it. 

It may, however, interest the reader to call attention to 
the word for hell most frequently used. It is Gehenna, or 
Gehinnon. This is a compound, made up of Ge, the 
Hebrew for valley, and Hinnon, possibly a man's name. 

This valley of Hinnon is near Jerusalem, and travelers 
may pass into and out of it, at the present day, without 
risking even their clothes. The bad associations connected 
with it had their origin as follows : 

There was in this valley an immense furnace called Tophet, 
through the fires of which, children were passed, in honor 
of the false God, Moloch. King Josias destroyed the fur- 
nace but the valley was used as a receptacle for the inflam- 
mable rubbish of the city. Thus, Hinnon's Valley, where 
the filth of Jerusalem was burned, became synonymous with 
that other scheol, where the rubbish of this earth, viz : the 
wicked, will be cremated with fire inextinguishable. 

Let now pass up the stream of Jewish history, to a period 
before the Babylonian captivity. The prophet Isaias, who 
lived long before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nabucho- 
donosor, in chap.Jxvi, v. 24, thus speaks : 



ALETHAURIOX . 



319 



" And they shall go out. and shall see the carcases of the men that have 
transgressed against me;, their worm shall not die. and their fire shall 
not be quenched, and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh. - ' 

This prophecy, which has relation, first, to the reproba- 
tion of the Jews, and, secondly, to the final and everlasting 
reprobation of the wicked, was fulfilled in type at the time 
the Romans, under Titus, took Jerusalem and sacked it. 
But it yet remains to be fully verified in the destruction of 
the wicked on the last day. 

It is worth of remark that our Lord, speaking of the rep- 
robate, makes use of a part of this prophecy — Mark vii, v. 
43. 

From Isaias we proceed to Job, who was, in all proba- 
bility, a contemporary of Moses. Examine chap, ii, from 
verse 16 to the end, and see if you can make sense out of 
what is said without admitting a heaven and a hell. Like- 
wise consult chap, xxiv, verses 18-21. 

It must be confessed that, in the five books of Moses, 

very little is said about the rewards or punishments of the 

next life. Yet in Deut. xxxii, verse 22, we find something 

bearing on our subject : 

"A fire is kindled in my wrath, and it shall burn even to the lowest 
hell, seheol, and shall devour the earth with her increase, and shall burn 
the foundations of the mountains/' 

It would be ridiculous to suppose that the word hell, 
seheol, in the original, means here only the grave. Though 
it must be admitted that, like Hades in Greek, it sometimes 
has that signification. 

We have now demonstrated that the most ancient nations 
believed in hell. Of the moderns, it is needless to speak. 
When of late, Beecher, Farrar, et al., struck orthodox 
Protestantism a whack in the face with their doubts and 
denials, the wail that was raised showed how deeply the 
popular heart was wounded. 

Now when we find a permanent and universal belief 
among men, which cannot be traced to any of the sources 



320 



ALETHAUEION . 



of error, the natural conclusion we come to is, that such 
belief had its origin in a primitive revelation, and is per- 
petuated in the world because conformable to the natural 
and eternal law inscribed upon the heart of man from the 
beginning* 

Neither passion nor worldly interest, which are the two 
main sources of error, could have invented a hell ; for the 
doctrine of future and eternal retribution is opposed to them 
both. 

- In our next we will continue this exceedingly pleasant 
subject. 



CHAPTER LXXVII. 



CONCERNING HELL. 

In the present chapter we examine some other reasons 
that no to show the reality of that painfully interesting 
place called hell. For this purpose we take for granted the 
immortality of the soul, the existence of a natural law, with 
its sanction, and free will upon the part of man to observe 
or violate it. 

These truths are susceptible of demonstration, but we 
shall not prove them now. In the first place, let us have a 
word or two about what is meant by the sanction. 

By it, is to be understood the motives that cause us to 
obey the law itself. These are of two kinds ; first, the 
authority of the legislature, and secondly, the rewards 
attached to the observance, and the punishments belonging 
to the violation of it. 

Without the sanction, a law would be nothing more than 
a mere lesson, council or exhortation. 

With these things properly understood, let us proceed a 
step, and take an example to illustrate the point we are 
aiming at. 



ALETHAUEION. 



321 



Here is a wealthy lord, who owns an immense tract of 
country, which he divides into farms, and leases out for 
short periods to a tenantry. He moreover, gives them to 
understand that whatever improvements are made will all 
be their own advantage. They go to work, and by their 
industry and energy, make even the barren and waste places 
of the estate to bloom like a garden. 

Now, about the time that the leases expire, this great lord 
conceives the idea of turning so many thousand acres of this 
improved land into a grazing farm for blooded stock. He 
breaks faith with these poor, industrious, hard working 
people, sends out his minions, in the depth of winter, and 
levels their cottages with the ground ; and, to add insult to 
injury, after clearing them off his place, tells them they may 
now go "to hell or to America." 

By this sudden and unexj:>eeted change, they lose the 
little they have got together by years of toil, are exposed to 
the inclemency of the seasons, have to emigrate to strange 
lands, or, may be, perish on the way. Here a fiend in 
human shape violates the great natural law of God, and also 
positive enactments. But, where is the sanction? Where 
is the adequate punishment meted out to the offender in 
this life? 

The civil law cannot reach such cases, and human judges 
have nothing left but to close their eyes to the tyrant's du- 
plicity and barbarity. 

Those who will not admit a retributive justice in the future 
state, come forward and say, that such a man is punished 
here, either by bodily suffering, or by the reproaches of his 
conscience. 

But, how does such a theory agree with our observation, 
generally speaking? Do the oppressors of mankind expe- 
rience here, in all cases, the suffering they cause others to 
endure? Our experience does not, by any means, confirm 
such a theory. 

The oppressor, when wealthy and powerful, lives well, 



322 



ALETHAURION . 



and has not only the pleasures, but also the honors of this 
life. Some cases do occur from time to time, wherein we 
see great misfortunes following the commission of great 
crimes. Napoleon died in exile, and Cesar was assassin- 
ated — punished for their evil deeds here on earth, so say the 
Universalists. Very well, so it may have been, and, it may 
not have been so. 

There was Scroggln's little five year-old boy, Jackey, 
who recently had a period put to his days, by a kick from 
his father's mule. Was he also punished for his sins? 
Until the breath left him, the little fellow suffered more 
than Cesar ; consequently his crimes must have been more 
atrocious. 

The Great Captain died in exile, and so did Pope Greg- 
ory VII, who has been canonized. If exile is to be regarded 
as retribution in Napoleon's case, why not also in that of 
Gregory ? 

We do not deny that there is a connection, and a very 
close one, between the moral and the physical orders. All 
those crimes that have a tendency to cause the race to dete- 
riorate, or become extinct, are partially punished here ; and 
for this reason, because the sin is not only an infraction of 
the moral, but also of the physical laws governing health. 
But, for the sins of idolatry, apostacy, heresy, and such 
like, what punishments do we see meted out here? None. 
Such persons flourish, in many cases, like trees planted by 
the running water. 

When, lately, that tyrant, the Earl of Leitrim, was taken 
off by an assassin, even persons who by no means approve 
of such work, drew a long breath, and felt that the injustice 
of years, to the poor and helpless, had been at last avenged. 
Yet, the connection between the tyrant's crimes and his fate 
is at best only problematical. Do not innocent people fre- 
quently get killed at some of our riots and street brawls ? 
Do not soldiers get shot on the battle field? Death, under 
such circumstances, we do not regard as vengeance from 



ALETHAURION. 



323 



above, for the individual's crime, and why should we in the 
other case ? 

We do not pretend to deny that the providence of God 
sometimes does, for wise purposes, permit one bad man to 
destroy another of the same sort. But, it would be contrary 
to experience to say that evil deeds are always adequately 
punished on earth. Neither should we confound man's 
malice with God's justice. 

And, if one case could be found in a million, where a man 
had certainly committed a crime, and as certainly had suf- 
fered nothing for it here, that alone would be sufficient to 
establish the reality of a retribution hereafter. Now multi- 
tudes of such cases can be found. An apoplectic man, for 
example, or one who has the heart disease, slips out some 
night and sets fire to his neighbor's barn, and burns a lot of 
grain and farming implements, but just as soon as the deed 
is done, he gets a stroke and dies instantly, as he would 
have done, if he had stayed at home in bed. 

In this case the criminal has suffered no bodily pain on 
account of his crime ; his conscience did not torture him, 
because the gratification of his hatred and revenge counter- 
acted for the time being, and, all every reproach from 
that quarter. Moreover, it is well known that conscience 
sometimes become seared, blunted, and will, while in such 
a state, cause but little annoyance to its possessor. 

Where, then, is the punishment in this life for the crime 
of arson that has been committed? Where is the sanction 
of the law that has been violated? There is none here; 
there must be hereafter. 

'We may now pass on to consider the greatest proof of 
all for the reality of a hell. It is found in the authority of 
the Catholic Church. We know that the Church continues 
to do what Christ himself did, while here on earth — i. <?., 
teach mankind the way of salvation. We know that she 
cannot err in matters appertaining to faith and morals. 

When, therefore, the Catholic Church solemnly declares 



324 



ALETHAURION. 



that hell is a reality, notwithstanding it be so terrible a one, 
the question is forever set at rest. It is a truth, and no 
amount of rhetoric can make it otherwise. Men cannot 
vote it out of existence nor diminish its torments, by affect- 
ing to despise or deny them. 

But has the Church formally declared there is such a 
place or state? She has, and most emphatically. The 
fathers of the Fifth General Council, held at Constanti- 
nople, A. D., 553, during the pontificate of Pope Vigilius, 
condemned the following proposition, taken from a work of 
the celerated Origen (de Principiis) : 

" The torments of the damned will end some day, and Jesus Christ, 
who was crucified to redeem mankind, will die again to redeem and save 
the devils." 

The contradictory of this is, therefore, part and parcel 
of the Catholic faith, "which, unless one faithfully and 
firmly believes he cannot be saved." Creed of Athana- 

SIUS. 

This doctrine is also clearly taught in the New Testa- 
ment. 

"When the Son of Man shall come in His majesty, and all the angels 
with Him, then shall He sit upon the seat of His majesty. And all na- 
tions shall be gathered before Him ; and he shall separate them one from 
another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats. And He 
shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. * 
Then shall He say to them also that shall be on His left hand : Depart 
from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the 
Devil and his angels. * * And these shall go into everlasting fire."' 

—Matt, xxv, 31-46. 

Finally, if there be no hell, to what purpose was the 
passion and death of the Son of God ? 

Hell is therefore a reality, and cannot be either lectured 
or voted out of existence. Heaven and earth may pass 
away, but the word of Christ will not. This eternity of 
torment is a terrible thing, but men may avoid it if they 
have a mind to do so. 

Our next will be about its location. 



ALETHAURION. 



325 



CHAPTER LXXVIII. 



HELL — ITS LOCATION. 

Having seen in past chapters, that hell is a reality, we now 
proceed to examine into its location. One of the surest 
methods a man can take to arrive at certain and practical 
knowledge on this subject, is so to live, that his earthly 
career will be, as far as possible, in direct contradiction to 
the precepts of the Gospel. He may then rest assured that 
in the future life he will have more information on this point 
than he will be likely to relish. 

Various theories have been set afloat in regard to where 
hell is, and some have gone so far as to give its exact dimen- 
sions. 

The opinion held by the vulgar, and it may be the true 
one, is that in the center of our earth, the reprobate receive 
a just recompense for the iniquities done in the flesh. 

This idea had its origin, most likely, in the fact that we 
associate with subterranean places, things that are gloomy 
and depressing to the soul of man. Dungeons of the most 
approved pattern are those built underground, and going 
down has, amongst all men, the meaning of going to ruin. 

The volcanoes found on the face of the earth, would also 
seem to indicate a molten mass within. 

This theory is, moreover, conformable to the letter of the 
inspired writings. Hell is frequently called the "bottom- 
less pit," in the Bible ; and, if we admit a lake of fire oc- 
cupying the entire center of our planet, it is plain that such 
a lake would be without bottom. 

The writer can see no reason for not admitting that the 
souls of the damned may be in reality confined within the 
bowels of the earth. And this opinion is very much 
strengthened by what we read in the book of Numbers, lvi, 



326 



ALETHAURION. 



33. It is there stated, that the earth opened and swallowed 
down Core, Dathan and Abiron, alive into hell, for having 
resisted and rebelled against Moses. 

True it is, that the bodies of the reprobate do not descend 
into hell, neither will they until after the day of general 
judgment. Yet, as the soul of man is confined to his body 
here on the surface of the earth, and does not go beyond its 
tenement, during the period of his mortal life, so, after 
separation from the body, God can give to the soul within 
the bowels of the earth, a local habitation, outside of which 
it cannot move ; and also relations with its immediate 
surroundings, analogous to those it has with the body in 
this life. 

Other theories have also been advanced, but they are 
mere speculations ; such as that hell is in the sun, or in one 
or more of those comets that from time to time appear 
within range of our earth. 

Considering the heat we get from our luminary, in the 
dog-days, and bearing in mind that it is ninety-five millions 
of miles away, and that heat diminishes or increases, in the 
ratio of the square of the distance, we may readily concede 
that the warmth there ought to be sufficient for all ordinary 
reprobates. 

We do not condemn any of those speculations, not hav- 
ing a warrant to do so. But, while conceding to others the 
greatest latitude, in questions on the merits of which the 
Church has not given a formal decision, we may also, at the 
same time, have and maintain special opinions. 

To the writer it would appear, as the most probable 
opinion, that hell is not* a place, but rather a state of exist- 
ence, in the next life. What we mean by the phrase state 
of existence, as distinct from place or special location, is 
not easily put into words, so as to become intelligible. The 
point may be best illustrated by an example. 

Take the case of two brothers, both living in the same 



ALETHAURIOX. 



327 



town or city. The one enjoys excellent health, is of a cheer- 
ful turn of mind, inclined to look on the bright side of 
things, has his affairs in a flourishing condition, is respected 
and beloved by his neighbors, lives at peace with himself 
and the world generally, and is moreover, his mother's pet 
boy, and the special pride of the old man. 

The other is sickly, quarrelsome, despondent, borrowing 
trouble wherever he can, and purchasing the same, at high 
prices, where it cannot be had gratis, is continually at war 
with his neighbors, who wish him all sorts of evil, a particu- 
lar thorn to the authors of his existence, and a scurvy cur 
in the sisrht of all. 

Now these two, though living in the same place, maybe 
said to have different states of existence. And so it may be 
with the just and the reprobate, but in a manner presenting 
a far more perfect contrast. 

We do not necessarily exclude the idea of location, yet it 
is not the place that makes the hell, nor will one have to 
soar be} 7 ond the moon in order to get to heaven. 

It would appear, from what we read in Scripture, that 
the devil has the power of moving from one place to another 
and it is certain that he and some of his imps have appeared 
more than once, on the surface of our globe. Are we to 
presume that they left hell in order to do so ? 

Whether lost souls have also the power of locomotion, 
such as the demons are known to possess, is one of those 
questions that we now set aside for further consideration. 

It is certain however, that there is only one hell for both, 
with torments varying in intensity, according to the malice 
of the crimes committed. This fact of itself goes far in 
showing that hell is not a place, but a state of existence. 
We have seen that the theory which places it within the 
bowels of the earth is the one most conformable to the let- 
ter of our sacred writings, as it certainly is most consonant 
to the belief of the vulgar. 



328 



ALETHAUEION. 



Now, admitting that the interior of our globe is the iden- 
tical spot, would it not seem strange that the Almighty, out 
of the multiplied millions of worlds which he has created, 
should have chosen this orb of ours to be the habitation of 
two different races of beings, one in a state of probation, 
and the other of reprobation? Would it not seem also 
strange that the entire pack of demons should have been 
sent here to this miserable footstool? 

If we adopt the views of those doctors of the Church who 
maintain that the angels were created long before the mate- 
rial universe, we have, indeed, strong reasons for believing 
that hell is a state of existence and not a place. For, as we 
said in a previous chapter, the moment of creation was that 
of the rebellion of the wicked angels ; and, no sooner had 
the sin been committed than hell was called into existence. 
Consequently hell cannot be a special place, in some part of 
the universe, since it existed before matter was created. 

But, it is not certain the angels were created before matter; 
on the contrary, it is most probable that both matter and 
spirit were created at one and the same time, in accordance 
with the words of Genesis : "In the beginning God created 
the heavens and the earth." Hence, that part of our argu- 
ment which rests for support on a supposed priority, may be 
regarded as a trine lame in the other foot, as Cicero used 
to say. 

Finally, and in conclusion, we may add, that, though it 
is a certain fact there is a hell, yet, no one living knows 
where it is. So far, nothing has been revealed on the sub- 
ject ; and there is no likelihood that future ages will be any 
wiser than we. 

St. Augustine, St. Thomas and St. Gregory Nazianzen, 
while admitting that nothing is known for certain, still cling 
to the belief of a hell within our earth. And that old 
Pagan philosopher, Pythagoras, in giving his "ipse dixit" 
on the subject, said that Jove's prison was a fiery globe, 
deep down in the ground. 



ALETIIAURION. 



329 



If the old sophist could now return, he would, after an 
experience of two thousand four hundred years, be able to 
tell us all about that globe, its latitude and longitude, as 
well as average temperature. 

In our next we will speak of the pains of the damned. 



CHAPTER LXXIX. 



THE PUNISHMENT OF THE DAMNED. 

Speaking of the joys of heaven, St. Paul says — 1 Cor. 
ii, 9: 

" The eye hath not seen nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into 
the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that 
love Him." 

He had been taken up to the third heaven, and, in all 
probability, would have attempted a description of what he 
had seen there, if it were possible to convey such knowledge 
to living men. 

We may, in speaking of the torments of the reprobate, 
also use St. Paul's words, and repeat : It hath never 
entered into the heart of man to conceive what God has pre- 
pared for those who violate His law, and depart this life at 
enmity with Him. 

To say that human language cannot express the anguish 
of perdition, would be putting it very mildly. We cannot, 
in our present state of existence, even imagine what it really 
is ; for hell is exactly the reverse of heaven, and the joys of 
the latter, we know by revelation, cannot be expressed in 
words. 

We might talk all day to a man, blind from his birth, 
about the beauties of a landscape, and descant upon the 
pleasing effects produced in us by light and shade, diversity 
of colors, and so forth ; but, it would be simply impossible 



330 



ALETHAURION. 



for him to gain, from any descriptions that might be given 
of nature, such ideas as we get by the use of our eyes. 

The preacher who undertakes to tell people all about the 
exact nature of the punishments meted out to the reprobate, 
has also a very large contract on hand. 

He may be likened to a blind man teaching the blind how 
to paint portraits, or to a Yankee notion peddler undertaking 
to 2;ive lessons in Sanskrit. 

Does the writer, then, find fault with sermons on hell, 
and with the vivid pictures that are sometimes presented by 
skilled pulpit orators ? 

Just the other way ; he says, let the good work go on. 
By far too little is said about it in our day ; and more 
especially is this the case outside of Catholic pulpits ; inso- 
much that Protestautism appears to be coming to the belief 
that the fire has gone out long ago, and nothing remains but 
a few lifeless embers. But it burns yet. 

No fire company is strong enough to master it ; and all 
the waters of the mighty deep, would there be only as the 
dew drop on a red hot griddle. 

Once every six mouths would not be too often to bring 
this matter up formally in the pulpit ; and, lest people 
should forget, brief allusions to the sort of entertainment 
given there to sinners might be made, with profit, between 
times. Besides, there is no danger of exaggeration ; for, 
after one has said of the pains of hell all that the most bril- 
liant imagination can conceive, the truth would still not be 
told. 

Hell is worse than any description that can be given of it. 
But, one thing should be guarded against. The preacher 
must not send people there for trivial reasons. 

Spiritual writers generally place the pains of the repro- 
bate under three headings, viz : The pain of sense, the 
pain of loss, and the worm of conscience. 

Those who are of opinion that hell has a particular 
location, as for example within the bowels of the earth, hold 



ALETHAURION. 



331 



that the fire is a material one, in no way different from 
ours, except in intensity. 

The fires of earth are for our use and benefit, but hell fire 
was created expressly for punishment. And when God 
calls a thing into being for a certain purpose, we may rest 
assured it fulfills the purpose well. 

Now, as by death, the soul becomes entirely separated 
from the body, and will remain so until reunited at the 
resurrection, some persons ask how it can be, that a 
material fire, such as ours, could affect an object entirely 
spiritual, such as the human soul. We can no more explain* 
this than we can so many other facts that happen every day 
under our eyes, whose truth we are still not at liberty to 
doubt. 

It is quite evident that the soul may be made to suffer in 
this life, through the body, to which it is united, in a mys- 
terious manner. When a man drops into a kettle of boiling 
syrup, his soul is in anguish, though the syrup, which 
produces the pain, and the body, by which it is communi- 
cated, are both material. 

We might ask in the same way, how it is that matter acts 
upon spirit in this life, and spirit upon matter? We know 
by experience that such is the case ; but by what process the 
nerves of the body communicate the pain to the soul, still 
remains, what it always has been, one of those things that 
doctors can't find out. 

Now God, after having severed the connection in this 
life, can give to the soul new relations with fire, or any 
other material similar to those which we know it has 
here with the body. Hence the writer does not see that 
any inconvenience would arise from saying the fire of hell 
is a material one; more intense indeed, than ours, be- 
cause made especially for the punishment of the wicked. 
Such is also the opinion of St. Thomas, and one certainly 
most conformable to the word of sacred Scripture. 

But punishment by fire is not the only one the reprobate 



332 



ALETHAURION. 



endures. They shall be made to pass from the greatest 

extremes of heat to extreme cold, and vice versa, without 

experiencing any alleviation, but rather greater misery by 

the change. Job xxiv, 19. 

"He shall rain snares upon sinners," says the psalmist, "fire and 
"brimstone, and storms of wind must be the portion of their cup." — Ps. 
x, 7. 

Hence we may excuse that Methodist preacher "out 
west" who told his people, on a chilly, cheerless Sunday eve- 
ning, in the depth of winter, that hell was a place of 
perpetual ice and snow, with storm following storm, and 
cold intense enough to freeze the eyes out of a polar bear. 
When called to task by some of his deacons, for the new 
departure, the preacher replied : 

"What! man, would you have me tell the people, on 
such a night as this, that hell is a warm place? My object 
was to keep them from going there, and I did not suppose I 
would be likely to succeed by giving a homily on fireworks, 
such weather as this." 

For the satisfaction of those bitter natures, who think a 
material fire would not sufficiently punish the reprobate, we 
may here state that they may, without incurring any note of 
heresy, take the word fire, not in its literal, but metaphori- 
cal sense, as meaning intense pain of any kind. The Church 
has not defined that the fire of hell is corporeal. And if 
there be anything else that a man is more in terror of than 
fire, he may figure to himself a hell plentifully provided 
with such an article ; and he, in all probability, will encoun- 
ter whatever is to him most terrific, in case it is his misfor- 
tune to be condemned to the City of Sorrow. 

-Along with the pain of sense, of which we have spoken, 
the reprobate also experiences in hell the pain of loss, and 
the gnawing of that worm which never dies. 

All who have ever experienced grave disappointments, 
either in ambition, love or some other consuming passion, 



ALETHAUEION. 



333 



know in what consists the pain of loss. It is great in pro- 
portion to the strength of the passion aroused, and the ex- 
cellence, real or fancied, of the object sought. But no mere 
earthly disappointment can compare with that feeling of 
hopeless ruin felt by the damned. 

Man's soul was created to know God, to love Him here, 
and to enjoy His presence and love hereafter. In his pres- 
ent state, however, this love for the beautiful, the true and 
the good, may, and very frequently does, stop short of the 
summum bonum, and takes to an inferior and even to a for- 
bidden object. And, separated from the body and from the 
dross of earth, with increased knowledge, the soul seeing 
clearly there is no other object worthy of its love but God, 
flies to Him ; but being repelled on account of sin, the feel- 
ing of loss is such that it would be impossible to now con- 
ceive its poignancy. 

The reprobate see and understand how easily they could 
have saved their souls. The vanity of all things earthly lies 
open to their eyes, the glory of heaven they know now is 
worth all else, and then comes the dreadful thought, we 
could have gained it, and at a cheap price, but we have lost 
it, and lost it forever. 

Remorse of conscience, the worm that never dies, is an- 
other of the pains of hell. This becomes, even here, so un- 
bearable to the wicked, sometimes, that they lay violent 
hands on themselves. But in hell it attains its full growth 
and perfection. 

Repentance, by which the sinner may liberate himself 
here from its gnawing, will there be no longer possible ; for 
the worm dieth not and the tire is not extinguished. 

The poetical hell of Dante will be the subject of our next. 



334 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER LXXX. 



DANTE 'S POETICAL HELL. 

Dante Alighieri, the father of Italian poetry, was born in 
Florence, A. D., 1265, and died at Ravenna, in the year 1321. 
He was the author of the Divina Co7nmedia , a poem of such 
-excellence as to have merited the praises, of all men in every 
age, and one of the few that is destined to go down in 
admiration to the remotest generation. 

The Divine Comedy is composed of three principal parts : 
The Inferno, Purgatorio, JParadiso. We shall here speak 
of the tirst only. 

Before descending into Dante's poetical hell, it may 
interest the reader that we give a short description of the 
poet's personal appearance and habits. 

Dante was of medium size, with a long face and aquiline 
nose. His jaws were heavy, and the under lip such that it 
sometimes went beyond the upper. This is one of the signs 
of eloquence, but it does not follow that all those whose 
under lips protrude are eloquent men. Habits of thought 
made him round-shouldered, because, while in deep medi- 
tation, the head is thrown forward, and hangs. Most great 
men become similarly affected, on account of the same cogi- 
tatory proclivities. 

His eyes were medium sized, and brown in color, his 
beard and hair thick, curly and black. The face, which 
bore the stamp of genius, was thoughtful and grave, ap- 
proaching to the melancholic. 

One day, as he in company with a friend, was passing by 
one of the gates in the city of Verona, they overheard the 
following conversation between some old women, who sat 
there gossiping, knitting and enjoying the sun : 

4 4 Do you see that low-sized, curly-headed man over 



ALETHAURION. 



335 



^there? " said one old hag to her neighbor ; " he is the one 
that goes down to hell, and comes back whenever he pleases. 
And he has written a book about all he has seen and heard 
there." To which one of the others made reply: "Indeed 
it must be so — don't you see how curly his hair and beard is 
and how tanned his face and hands from the smoke?" 

At hearing this, Dante's under lip began to stretch, and 
a frigid smile passed over his countenance. 

He was solitary in his disposition, gave much of his lime 
to study, and had but few intimate friends. His dress was 
such as became a grave and consequential personage, and he 
was exceedingly temperate at table. Although eloquent he 
never sought the occasion to air his vocabulary, and did not 
orate until strongly requested. Let us now pass from his 
person to his works. 

The Inferno is generally regarded as the most interesting 
part of the Divine Comedy. He opens by saying that, hav- 
ing lost his way at one time in a dark and lonely forest, 
.some wild beasts he there saw, and of which he was afraid, 
kept him from going on high ground to see his way out of 
the labyrinth. While in this state of uncertainty, as well as 
terror of the beasts, he saw before him the figure of a man, 
to whom he called for aid out of his difficulty. 

This person was Virgil, the Latin poet, who told him not 
to be alarmed, but to follow, and that he would show him 
through the infernal regions, then through purgatory, and 
finally, assured him that he would also be shown through 
heaven, by Beatrice, a friend of Dante, who had died 
sometime previous. The poet hesitated to undertake so 
long and dangerous a journey, but on being encouraged by 
his spirit friend, he finally consented. Following his guide 
they came to the gates of hell. And on these he found 
written the following terrible words : 

" This is the passway to the City of Sorrow. This is the 
gate to eternal woe. Through me you enter the abode of 
the damned. Justice moved my creator. The Divine 



336 



ALETHAURION. 



Power, the Wisdom, by excellence, and the first Love made 
me. Before me nothing was created, and I continue for- 
ever. You who enter leave all hope behind." 

No sooner hcid d DANTE passed the gate, through which 
Virgil led him by the hand, than he heard the confused 
sounds of many voices. He was now in the vestibule of 
hell, where those who in life had been poltroons were pun- 
ished. And their condition was so wretched that they en- 
vied the lot of every one else. 

These poltroons, who were never alive, says the poet, and 
who, while on earth, were displeasing to God and to his 
enemies, appeared naked, and were continuously stung by 
horseflies and wasps that were there. 

Blood, and tears, and loathsome maggots streamed down 
their faces to the ground, and their weeping and cries made 
the darkness horrible. After this, the poet saw a vast con- 
course of people hurrying on pell-mell towards the banks of 
a gloomy river, at some distance off, and he asked his guide 
what all this meant. Virgil told him those were souls that 
had recently left their bodies, and, having been condemned, 
were on their way to Charon's boat to be ferried over the 
river Acheron. While Charon was slashing away with his 
oar at those who were slow about getting into his boat, 
Dante and his guide approached the bank. But no sooner 
had the old ferryman set his eye on the poet than he recog- 
nized him at once as a person who had no right to be in his 
dominions, nor in such company. 

" You must go back," said he, " and try it over again — 
this is no way for you to come and attempt to smuggle 
yourself across. My boat is not of the requisite tonnage for 
such as you." 

While the old Commodore was thus trying to work himself 
up into a passion, Virgil gave him a nod, and told him not 
to take on so, that the affair was all right, and if not, that it 
would be made so. This calmed the old man's wrath, and 
the wrinkles between his eyebrows began to relax. Still 



ALETHAURIOX. 



337 



he did not say whether he would or not, but Virgil, know- 
ing his customer, looked at the poet and bade him cheer up. 

In the meantime, Dante, overcome by weariness of body, 
and depressed in mind, on account of all he had seen, 
dropped down, exhausted, on the shores of Acheron and 
slept until awakened by a rumbling sound like thunder. He 
then discovered that, while asleep, he had been taken across 
the river into Limbo, which is the first and outermost of the 
nine circles of hell. 

Here were to be found the souls of infants who had died 
without baptism, and of those who, before the coming of 
Christ, did not worship God in a proper manner. "Of 
whom I am one myself/' says Virgil to our poet. 

" But tell me," " I beseech you," said Daxte, " has any 
one ever escaped out of here within your time? " " Yes," 
said Virgil, " not long after my own arrival, there came 
one day an all powerful Being, wearing on His brow the 
crown of victory, who took away with Him the spirit of our 
first parent Adam, and those of Abel, Noah, Moses, Abra- 
ham, Jacob and many others. These he took with Him to 
paradise." Daxte then goes on to state, that, having passed 
through a forest of these spirits, they entered a place of 
light, where they were met by Homer, Horace, Ovid and 
Lucax, all poets, who went with them to a castle, sur- 
rounded by seven walls, beyond which were the Eh'sian 
fields. Here all the great poets, orators, philosophers and 
warriors, of Paganism, communed with one another. There 
were Hector and iExEAS, the great Julius Cesar, and 
Brutus, who expelled the Tarquins from Rome. Socrates, 
Plato and Aristotle were also of the number, enjoying 
the refreshing zephyrs of the Elysian fields ; and many 
others too numerous to mention. 

Daxte, like a sensible man and a good poet, while not 
conceding to those heroes and sages, a place in heaven, yet 
avoids representing them as punished with the reprobate. 
Because those men had, in life, many noble .qualities, which 



,338 



ALETHAURION. 



we must admire ; and, rigorously speaking, we do not know 
whether they are in hell or not. Hence, in poetry, they 
may get the benefit of the doubt. 

In our next we will tell of the things Dante saw in the 
second and third circles. 



CHAPTER LXXXT. 

DANTE 'S POETICAL HELL THE ENTERTAINMENT GIVEN TO 

THE DIFFERENT BRANDS OF SINNERS. 

After having explored the Elysian fields, where all the 
better sort of Pagans who lived before Christ, were allowed 
to run together and pass their days in happiness, chatting 
about old times, Dante was next taken to the second circle. 

Here the music beo-an in earnest. Just at the crate stood 
Minos, one of the infernal judges, who frowned and 
snapped at all who came there to be judged, and have 
their places assigned below. 

Turning aside, for a moment, from the vast throng of 
wretches that stood awaiting sentence, each in his turn, 
Minos cast a cold and contemptuous glance at the poet ; and 
simply bade him to mind himself; that he was now on dan- 
gerous ground, and that he would have done better to have 
stayed away. 

"And could you not have said so, without growling at him 
in such a churlish way, said Virgil," as they passed inside 
the gate. 

In this circle the luxurious got what they deserved. Their 
punishment consisted in being exposed to bleak and cruel 
winds, by which they were eternally swept around, and 
dashed against the place and one another, like fence rails in 
a cyclone. 

Amongst these he recognizes Queen Semiramis, Dido, 



ALETHAURION. 



339 



Cleopatra, and the beautiful Helen, on account of whom 
Troy was taken and sacked. 

The shade of the great Achilles, with that of Paris, and 
more than a thousand others, were borne on the wind before 
him. 

It is worthy of remark that Dante, whilst according to 
Hector a place in the Elysian fields, among the favored of 
the Pagan world, thinks fit to put his conqueror in company 
with the reprobrate, and a sharer of their woes. 

This will not surprise any one who has read the Iliad. 
Hector is always the magnanimous and patriotic hero ; 
brave as a lion, encountering danger, not through personal 
motives, but for his country's sake, and for a cause that is 
to him just and righteous. 

Achilles, fearless and terrible in the fight, carrying 
everything before him, by valor and prowess, not seeking to 
gain his point by trickery, is yet vindictive, bloodthirsty 
and lustful. A savage in his instincts, he would give no 
quarter in war ; still by nature a hero, he could never de- 
scend so low, as to attempt to advance himself by working 
on the sectional or religious prejudices of his countrymen. 
Achilles would have always left such a job to Thersites 
and to such as our own Des Moines orator, Ulysses. 

Here also, in the second circle, Dante recognizes Fran- 
cesca da Kimano, a celebrated belle in her day, who tells 
him, her greatest sorrow is the recollection of former joys, 
in her present misery. 

The poet then passes into the third circle, where gluttons 
are punished. These he found condemned to trudge along 
in deep mud-, while rain and hail poured down on them from 
above. Nor was this their only affliction. Cerberus, the 
triple-headed watch-dog of Hell, kept them in continual 
alarm by his barking, and quickened their pace through the 
mire by an occasional nip. 

After pitying their miserable condition, he arrives at the 
entrance of the fourth circle, where he finds Pluto acting 



340 



ALETHAURION . 



as doorkeeper. Virgil having gained permission to pass, 
they enter, and find the prodigals and the avaricious engaged 
in pelting stones at one another. Bat, as he saw no good 
would come from an attempt to reconcile them, they pro- 
ceed to the fifth circle. 

There, in the stygian morass, they found all who in this 
life had been lazy, likewise the peevish and hot tempered, 
busy at work, fisting, clouting and kicking each other. 

Virgil next introduces Dante into the city of Dis, where 
heretics get their deserts. They were punished by fire, and 
stabled within furnaces, like those used now-a-days for 
cremating. 

After having peeped into and passed by several of these 
summer-houses, our poet was taken to the seventh circle, 
presided over by the Minotaur. 

On approaching the center, they came in sight of a river 
of blood, with high and slippery banks. In this stream 
were all who had died with the guilt of murder on their 
souls. They swam about like rats in a tub of water, trying 
hard to escape. But as soon as one got to the bank, and 
attempted to leave the horrible stream, an arrow from the 
bow of a centaur sent him reeling back into the current. 

In another part of the seventh circle suicides, and those 
who had destroyed their own possessions received the re- 
ward of merit — the former by being changed into rough and 
knotty trunks, on which the harpies or buzzards roosted ; 
and the latter by being chased forever, and without rest, by 
troops of hungry black dogs. 

Three other species of violent characters, viz : the un- 
godly, the violent against nature, and the violent against art, 
here also repented of their follies. They were compelled to 
foot it through a desert of burning sand, while fire and brim- 
stone showered down without ceasing on their heads. 

When they had examined all the curiosities of the seventh 
circle, Virgil and our poet then slid down along the back 
of the triple-bodied Geryon into the eighth ; which they 



ALETII AUHIOX . 



341 



found to consist of ten dens, each tenanted by sinners of a 
different brand from the rest. 

In the first were all those who, in life, had beguiled young 
women, or had lent aid to others for that end. Being 
naked, these dirty fellows were flogged unceasingly by furies, 
specially deputed for the purpose. In the second den were 
the flatterers of the great and powerful of this world. Their 
punishment consisted in being obliged to stand, or swim 
around in liquid of high smelling odor. 

The third den had a floor with many holes, and sticking 
out of these our poet noticed a forest of shins from the 
knee. They belonged to those who had been guilty of 
simony ; and to keep them warm, each had a fire kindled on 
the soles of his feet. 

The fortune tellers hold the fourth den, and as their 
heads were turned completely about, their punishment con- 
sisted in beinfi: obliged to walk lobster fashion ; amongst 
them, Dante recognizes Manto Tebana, the reputed foun- 
der of the city of Mantua. 

Swindlers and those who had embezzled the public money, 
or sold their country, were quartered in the fifth den, where 
there was a lake of boiling pitch, in which to slake their in- 
fernal thirst. 

In the sixth den, all together in a squad, were the hypo- 
crites, and their punishment consisted in being compelled to 
wear heavy capes and cowles of lead, gilt on the outside. 
Along with this, they were obliged to walk continually 
around the den, with heads cast down, and clasped hands 
resting on their paunches. Amongst them our poet saw 
Catalano and Loderingo, two monks of Bologna, who ap- 
pear, in Dante's opinion, to have put too many extras on 
their piety, for which he rewards them with a place in the 
Inferno. 

Highwaymen and serpents possess the seventh den ; and 
those who gave false counsel are punished with flames in the 
eighth. 



342 



ALETHAURION. 



In the ninth were those who used their endeavors to 
spread heresy ; and also gossiping old women and scandal 
mongers. They were punished by having their members 
divided. 

In the tenth and last den were counterfeiters of all kinds. 
These were punished by sickness, pestilence, hunger and 
thirst, bit one another, or were piled up like cord-wood in a 
shed. 

Finally Dante and his guide pass on to the ninth and last 
circle, which he finds divided into four spheres, the prisons 
of as many different kinds of traitors, all punished in a 
way corresponding to their merits. 

In the fourth sphere he finds the inmates covered with ice,, 
through which they shone like motes in a piece of amber. 
Some of them stood on their feet, others on their heads, 
and not a few were bent double, like boys playing leap- 
frog. 

Judas Iscariot, with Brutus and Cassius, were among 
the ornaments of this place, and nearest Old Lucifer him- 
self, who appeared in the very center of hell, covered in ice 
up to the third rib. 

The monster had three faces — one red, one mulatto, and 
one black — from beneath each of which grew wings like 
those of a bat, but larger than the sails of any vessel. 
From his six eyes poured floods of tears ; and his mouths, 
like hempbreaks, mashed the sinners, making their blood 
and other humors of the body to run down his neck and 
breast. 

The eternity of punishment will be our next subject. 



ALETHAURION 



343 



CHAPTER LXXXII. 



hell's torments are eternal. 

We now leave the poets, and return to shake hands, once 
more, with the philosophers and theologians. Our subject, 
the eternity of punishment in the next life, is not pleasant 
food for contemplation. But, it is said, by good judges, to 
be healthy, if taken in moderation. 

Eternity has four different meanings. Sometimes it is 
used to express a very long period of time. And, in this 
sense, the possession of the promised land by the Jews was 
called eternal. In the second place, that is called eternal 
which had a beginning but will have no end ; as, for example, 
the angels and souls of men. 

Thirdly, that is called eternal, but improperly so, which 
is indeed without beginning and without end, but not abso- 
lutely necessary ; such as the free acts of the Divine will or 
intellect. 

Finally, and in the strict sense, eternity may be defined 
as absolute and necessary duration, without beginning and 
without end. In this sense God alone is eternal. The 
definition of eternity most generally accepted is that of 
Boetius, who calls it " the entire and perfect possession, at 
one and the same time, of an endless life." 

This suits our purposes well enough, and we may now 
proceed to show that the torments of the wicked are eternal, 
in the sense that they will not have an end. 

We must here rely altogether on what God has chosen to 
reveal on the subject. Human reason, directed by the light 
of the natural law, might indeed lead to the belief that there 
ought to be a hereafter, with rewards for the good and pun- 
ishments for the wicked. But that those torments should 



344 



ALETHAURION. 



be eternal, is something of which man could never be 
absolutely certain without the revelation of God. 

The existence of a purgatory falls, to some extent, within 
the domain of reason ; the existence of a hell, with endless 
misery, is as mysterious as it is terrible. 

Therefore, since God is truth and cannot deceive, the 
whole question comes to this : Has he at any time declared 
the punishments of hell to be endless? We answer in the 
affirmative ; and if they are not so, then revelation and 
Christianity are only a myth and a. dream. God's veracity 
is at stake. 

In ancient times He revealed His will to man through the 
prophets. Let us see what their testimony is on the sub- 
ject. Daniel xii, 2, says: 

" And many of those that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, 
some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, to see it always." 

Isaias, the prophet, lxvi, 24, speaking of the damned, 
uses these words : 

" Their worm dieth not, and their fire is not extinguished." 

In the book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon, exhorting 
his people to repent, and make peace with God, while time 
is given, says : 

" If the tree fall to the south or to the north, in what place soever it 
shall fall, there shall it be."* 

The tree here spoken of is the human soul. At the 
period of its separation from the body it falls, either to the 
north or south, that is, it goes to heaven or to hell. And 
just as God allows the dead tree to remain where it has 
fallen, so does he also permit the soul to lie forever in that 
bed which in life it had prepared for itself. 

Heretics who deny the existence of a purgatory, some- 
times bring forward this text as a proof that there is no 
intermediate state in the future life. 

Two backwoodsmen, one a Catholic and the other a here- 
tic, had a discussion on this point, some time ago. They 



ALETHAURION. 



345 



were neighbors, out cutting cord-wood, one on this and the 
other on that side of the fence. 

"Look here, Boggs," said Murphy, "they tell me you 
had a strange preacher down at the Forks, last Sunday." 
"Yes," answered the other, "and he's a buster, I tell you 
he is. The way he laid down the law, slapped the Bible 
and kicked the pulpit, was a caution." "Well, what did 
he say, anyhow?" " Oh, I couldn't tell you a tenth of it. 
He's a man just out of college, and uses the biggest kind of 
words. You'd have to keep a dictionary open beside you 
all the time, in order to understand him. Nearly every 
woman at the meeting was excited : and vou never heard 
such talk as there was about him, among the people going 
home." "But," said Murphy, "don't you remember 
anything at all that he said?" " The only thing I can now 
call to mind is, that towards the end of the sermon he gave 
you Catholics a terrible rating." "Why so?" said Mur- 
phy. " Don't you believe in purgatoiy?" asked Boggs. 
" We do," said the other. " Well, that's the first time I 
ever heard the word mentioned, and the preacher proved, 
out of the Bible, that there is no such place. Whichever 
way the tree falls it stays there." "That's all. true 
enough," said Murphy, "provided it falls ; but you know 
the tree sometimes lodges." "I never thought of that," 
said Boggs, " and the next time the preacher comes out 
here, I'll tell him so. Anyhow, he appears to me to be 
trying to make too big a man of himself, and somebody 
ought to take him down." 

Thus far those rustics. Let us return to ourselves and to 
this subject. 

The Saviour has told us, in express terms, that the tor- 
ments of the reprobate will never end. " Depart from me 
into everlasting fire," Matt, xxv, 41, is the sentence he will 
pronounce on them at the last day. "And these shall go 
into everlasting punishment, but the just into life everlast- 
ing." v, 46. 



346 



ALETHAUEION. 



It is worthy of remark, that the torments of the wicked 

are here pronounced everlasting, in the same sense that the 

joys of the elect are declared eternal. The text alone ought 

to be sufficient to put to rest forever any controversy on the 

subject. But we will add a few more in confirmation of 

what it expresses : 

" If thy hand scandalize thee, cut it off; it is better for thee to enter 
into life, maimed, than, having two hands, to go into hell, into the fire 
that cannot be quenched.' * — Mark, ix, 42. 

"Amen. I say to you that all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of 
men, and the blasphemic where with they shall blaspheme, but he that 
shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, shall never have forgiveness, but 
shall be guilty of an everlasting sin/* — Mark, iii, 28-29. 

These are the words of Cheist Himself, as they are found 
in the writings of men inspired by the Holy Ghost. 

Not long ago, the writer saw, in one of the daily papers, 
a sermon or essay, in which the speaker alluding to those 
texts, had the assurance to tell his hearers that the Apostles 
and evangelists did not accurately report what the Saviour 
had said on this subject. And no doubt, if Christ Himself 
were to appear and say to the orator or preacher that they 
had given His words correctly, he would even then con- 
tradict. 

Such is the awful blasphemous stupidity of some men, 
who have faith only in themselves, and in their own puny 
reason They would argue with the Omnipotent, chide 
Him for allowing such a relic of barbarism to exist, in this 
enlightened age. 

The Catholic Church bears testimony to the eternity of 
punishment, and in doing so, she only repeats, from age to 
age, what she had heard from the lips of her Divine 
Founder. 

When, centuries ago, the celebrated Origin, a man of im- 
mense intellect, began to surmise, out of the goodness of his 
heart, that the torments of the demons and of the reprobate 
might some time have an end, the Church in the general 
council, came to the front, and solemnly declared such a 



ALETHAURION . 



347 



doctrine heretical, and in contradiction to the truth, as 
taught by Christ and the Apostles. 

Should any of our readers desire to see what the most an- 
cient Fathers have had to say on the eternity of punishment, 
they will find many and appropriate extracts from their 
works, in Petavius, concerning the angels, bookiii, chap. 8. 

Finally, let us conclude, by saying that eternal torment is 
a mystery. One that we are bound to believe, because the 
supreme Truth has revealed it. A punishment that is just, 
because inflicted by infinite justice. Let us not, however, 
tell our neighbors they do not reason, because unable to 
under stand it. 

Eternal misery is above reason, altogether within the do- 
main of revelation. For its truth, we have only that faith 
which is the argument of things that appear not. 

Human reason and human justice might be content with 
giving a warm corner in purgatory for a century or so. But 
the justice of God is infinite. 

In our next we will take up and sift some popular objec- 
tions. 



CHAPTER LXXXIII. 



ANSWERS TO SOME OF THE OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE ETER- 
NITY OF PUNISHMENT. 

The good as well as the wicked have very serious objec- 
tions to being tormented forever in the next life. And, of 
the two, the saints appear more opposed to it than the sin- 
ners. 

But the former seek to destroy the effect by attacking 
the cause, which is sin ; whereas the latter wish to abolish 
the effect without attempting to remove that, for the pun- 
ishment of which hell was called into existence. 

The saints are here decidedly the wiser and better logicians. 



348 



ALETHAURION. 



But the entire depth of their wisdom will not appear 
until death shall have exposed all the fallacies that the 
world, the flesh and the devil have woven. 

Let us see what reasons are sometimes brought forward 
against the doctrine of eternal punishment. 

" God," said an acquaintance to the writer, a few days 
ago, " placed me in this world, without my knowledge or 
consent ; He gave me a propensity to evil, almost from my 
birth, and, as I increased in years, my inclination to sin 
grew stronger. Now, as I made no contract with the Lord 
to keep His commandments, in consideration of happiness 
hereafter, is it not unjust that He should punish me eter- 
nally for not observing a law that I never accepted, and one, 
moreover, that I am continually tempted to violate, on 
account of a disposition and propensities that He has given 
me?" 

Our philosopher spoke this with such an air of assurance 
and earnestness as to leave no doubt that he imagined the 
Almighty entirely in the wrong, and he a much persecuted 
man indeed. 

Let us take up his case and examine his grounds of com- 
plaint ; because, though fallacious, they would appear 
specious enough to a man with some desperate project in 
contemplation. 

First, of all, we ask : Had God a right to create our 
philosophical wise-acre? This will not be denied by any 
one who admits that a potter is at liberty to make a crock 
out of clay that belongs entirely to himself. 

Second, Had God the right to impose upon him the ob- 
servance of a law without his consent? Right reason can 
give but one answer. Even human society claims the privi- 
lege. And the hangman would grin serenely at the sim- 
plicity of a culprit who should object to the rope, on the 
ground that he never gave his consent to the law that made 
murder a capital offense. 

God, though all powerful, could not create a being and 



ALETHAURION. 



349 



make it independent of Himself. He alone is self-existent 
and independent. All things else must bow before Him. 
Lucifer fell when he said, " I w T ill not serve." And it is 
the same spirit that animates his followers. They would 
have God to conform to their notions, not they to His law. 

When, some five months ago, a notorious pulpit thumper, 
of Brooklyn, declared that he did not wish to go to heaven 
presided over by a demon, who swept people into hell like 
flies, without taking the trouble to kill them, he spoke out 
of the pride of his heart, and impiously took upon himself 
to judge the Omnipotent and to ] condemn Him. He made 
his own God, as did the Pagans of old. Or, rather, he 
imagined one, who should be a servant and factotum to his 
creatures, but without the privilege of finding fault with 
anything they chose to do. 

To criticise the providence of God is an attempt to defy 
one's self. It springs from pride, of a stolid and morose 
character, and is founded on ignorance of who God is and 
who we are. 

44 Almost from my birth I had evil inclinations," says our 
philosopher. Very true indeed, "the imagination and 
thought of a man's heart are prone to evil from his youth." 
This is one of the effects of original sin, by which man was 
stripped of supernatural gifts, and wounded grievously in 
natural endowments. 

But what follows from it? Are we to admit that, because 
there is a propensity to evil in the human breast, no crime 
is imputable to the evil doer? Such a doctrine would upset 
all law. 

If the inclination to wickedness were of a nature that it 
could not be resisted, then, indeed, man would not be res- 
ponsible before God for his crimes. Let us put the case in 
this way : Can a man avoid giving to another the honor due 
to God ; can he avoid taking the holy name in vain ; doing 
servile work on Sunday ; dishonoring his parents ; murder, 
hatred and revenge; adultery, fornication, theft, evil 



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ALETKAUEIOX. 



thoughts and desire? We ask again, can a man avoid these 
things, if he wishes to do so? 

He who says he cannot, is, by his own confession, a dan- 
gerous character, and ought to be put at once either with 
the convicts or the lunatics. 

From all we can learn, it would appear that the Supreme 
Being intended that man's life here on earth should be a 
warfare. And the Apostle says that "no one is crowned 
except he who has legitimately fought." 

Again, says this man who does not admit eternal punish- 
ment : 

" I have at home a son, who has come to the age of rea- 
son, and he sometimes afflicts my heart sorely, by his luck- 
less manner of life. He steals from me and robs me of 
everything he can lay his hands on, and spends the proceeds 
with companions as wayward as himself. He refuses to 
work or assist me in any way, and goes so far as to even 
threaten my life, unless I give him" of my substance to waste 
upon harlots. Yet, notwithstanding all that, I could not see 
the boy go to the penitentiary, even for a year — not if it 
cost me three-fourths of what I am worth. Now God loves 
us more than a father can love his child, and we cannot do 
Him any injury, nor diminish His happiness, as my unfor- 
tunate son does mine. As I am not more merciful than 
God, I cannot believe that He will punish His children for 
all eternity in flames ; when I could not reconcile myself to 
the idea of seeing my boy in the State's prison for only a 
very few months." 

We may reply : Very likely, you have precisely such a 
boy as the one you speak of. You are exactly the kind of 
a father to own a lad of his description. You teach him 
there is no hell, and he does all in his power to teach you 
that the Almighty made a mistake in not creating one. 

But let us come to a direct answer. The two cases are 
not parallel. God loves man, it is true, with more than an 
earthly parent's love. But His justice is commensurate 



ALETHAUEIOX. 



351 



with His love. Destroy that — have Him to make no dis- 
tinction between the unjust aggressor and his victim, and 
you have a Deity altogether different from the one that now 
deserves our adoration. 

Parental affection is, by a wise law of nature, very strong 
in the human breast ; so powerful as sometimes to smother 
all opposing considerations. Still, history gives us some 
examples of men in authority condemning to death their 
own offspring, for violation of law, and we praise the jus- 
tice that could make so great a sacrifice. 

Shall we expect less of a being infinitely perfect than can* 
sometimes be found in man? The attributes of God do not 
clash, the one with the other, as do the passions and weak- 
nesses of His earthly images. 

Hence, this man's mode of acting towards his wayward 
;Sonis by no means a safe criterion. If his justice were on 
.a par with his love, the boy would long ago have been occu- 
pying a position in the institution that has sashes without 
glasses. 

Another objection against the eternity of punishment is 
sometimes put in the following way : 

Man, inasmuch as he is a finite being, is incapable of an 
infinite act, either for good or for evil ; and, as the measure 
of punishment ought not to exceed the measure of guilt, so 
an endless torture ought not to be inflicted on account of a 
deed done in a moment of time. 

We reply : Very true, man, regarded absolutely, is incapa- 
ble of anything infinite, but his evil deeds, inasmuch as they 
are directed against God, who is infinite, acquire thereby a 
corresponding malice, which calls for an endless retribution. 
Moreover, though the act which constitutes a mortal sin may 
be consummated in a moment of tima, its formality con- 
tinues until it is repented of. 

And, as man's time of probation is limited to this life, if 
lie should die in mortal sin, having passed over the entire 
way to the end of the pilgrimage, where change, in his 



352 



ALETHAURION. 



moral condition, is no longer possible, the sin in which he 
has died, becomes an everlasting one, deserving endless pun- 
ishment, according to its malice. 

Our next will be about the condition in the next life of 
infants who depart without baptism. 



CHAPTER LXXXIV. 



WHERE UNEAPTIZED INEAXTS GO AFTER DEATH. 

In the future life there are three places to sojourn — 
heaven, purgatory and hell. All who die must pass into 
some one of these three states. Those who have never 
soiled the white robe of baptism ; those who had shed their 
blood for the faith, and those who have done adequate pen- 
ance for their sins, in this life, go at once to heaven. 

All who die in mortal sin are immediately swept into hell,, 
while persons who depart with lesser sins, called venial, or 
have not satisfied the Divine justice for their transgressions, 
are quartered in purgatory. 

Thus far everything is clear. But where do the souls of 
infants who die without baptism, go? Answer: They go 
to hell. That much also is defined by the Church, and the 
logical consequence of what is taught in the Scriptures. Let 
us come to the proof. 

In the Fourteenth Ecumenical Council, held at Lyons, A. 
D., 1274, and in that of Florence, A. D., 1439, the follow- 
ing was defined to be part and parcel of the Catholic faith : 
" We believe that the sonls of those who die in mortal sin, 
or in original sin alone, go at once to hell, to be punished 
according as each deserves." \_Poenis tamen disparibus 
puniendas .] 

The Scriptures teach the same doctrine. From them we 
learn that men are born in sin, and that nothing defiled can 
enter heaven. 



ALETHAURION. 



353 



Hence, as infants cannot be freed from original guilt in 
any other way than by baptism, either of blood or water, it 
follows that if they die before having been baptized, they 
cannot be saved. 64 Unless a man be born again of water 
and of the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the kingdom of 
God." John hi, 5. 

Let us take a few texts of Scripture, and see how clearly 
the doctrine of original sin is laid down in our sacred writ- 
ings. Job xiv, 4, addressing God, says : ''Who can him 
clean that is conceived of unclean seed?" In Psalm 1, 7, 
King David, says: " Behold I was conceived in iniquities, 
and in sins did my mother conceive me." St, Paul, Ro- 
mans v, 12, teaches the same doctrine. "Wherefore," 
says he, « ' as by one man sin entered into the world, and by 
sin death ; and so death passed unto all men in whom all 
have sinned. Therefore, as by the offence of one, unto all 
men to condemnation, so also by the justice of one unto all 
men unto justification of life." 

Again, 1 Cor. xv, 21 : " Death came by a man, and by a 
man the resurrection of the dead. And as in Adaat all die* 
so also in Christ all shall be made alive." 

These various texts show that men are born in sin and can- 
not see the face of God until cleansed therefrom. 

Having now given all that is of faith on the subject, we 
may next go into some speculations. The idea most per- 
sons have of hell is, that it is a pool of fire in which all are 
huddled together and punished in the same manner, and to 
the same degree. This is false, and conflicts with the jus- 
tice of God, who will render to every man according to his 
works. For, as in onr Heavenly Father's house there are 
many mansions, each corresponding to the merits of its 
occupants, so in Hades, there are various grades of punish- 
ment, to correspond with the iniquities done in the flesh. 

Not long ago, while the writer was at a certain place, on 
missionary duty, a house was pointed out to him, where 



354 



ALETHAURION. 



lives a man whose ideas appear to be somewhat bemuddled 
on this point. 

44 1 know," says this desperate wretch, " that after death 
I will go to hell, and what's the use in trying to be good, 
or to avoid doing evil, provided I keep out of the peniten- 
tiary, and away from the hangman?" 

Quite correct, on the supposition that hell is the same for 
all. But there is where the mistake lies. The greater the 
iniquity, the more intense the retribution. This brings us 
to the aforesaid speculations on the condition of infants, 
who have died without baptism. 

In a matter of this kind, before obtruding our own views, 
we prefer to give those of others. St. Augustine, whom 
nearly all the other Latin fathers have followed, was of 
opinion that the souls of unbaptized infants are punished 
with eternal fire, but with heat so mild, that one cannot 
determine whether existence is to them acceptable, or the 
reverse. 

Cardinal Norms, who wrote a commentary on the works 
of St. Augustine, goes more into particulars. Norris says 
their pain is of the lightest and mildest character, the fire 
warming the little creatures, and giving some annoyance, 
but not so as to scorch them. 

The writer does not know where this most eminent Cardi- 
nal crot his thermometer or how he managed to brins: the 
matter down to such a fine point. Yet, he is entitled to his 
opinion, where the Church has not spoken. 

The Greek fathers amongst whom St. Gregory Nazian- 
zex, and St. Gregory, of Nyssa, differ with the Latins, in 
admitting only the plan of loss, and opining that those in- 
fants endure no pain of sense whatever. 

The schoolmen and theologians do not accord any better 
among themselves on this point than do the Fathers. Some 
have gone so far as to affirm it is of faith that unbaptized in- 
fants are punished with the pain of sense, whilst others, 
such as Vasquez hold the contrary opinion, maintaining, 



ALETHAURION. 



355 



with some of the schoolmen, that it is of faith that such in- 
fants suffer only the pain of loss. The latter opinion is the 
one now most generally held. 

Let the reader, however, bear in mind that it is by no 
means of faith, and consequently we cannot be abso- 
lutely certain about it. 

Kespecting this pain or loss which unbaptized infants en- 
dure, in the future state, our theologians also dispute 
among themselves. Bellarmine, and some others are of 
opinion that they experience a certain feeling of sadness, on 
account of the. loss of the beatific vision, whereas, St. 
Thomas denies it in toto. 

Ambrosius Catharuvus not only exempts the little ones 
from all pain, but grants them in his generosity, a natural 
beatitude. And this opinion does not conflict with our holy 
faith. We may hope Ambrosius is right, but he may be 
wrong. And this should be a warning to all Christian par- 
ents, who have at heart the eternal happiness of their child- 
ren, to see that so far as in them lies, they do not depart this 
life without the sacrament. 

There is no question about the happiness of baptized 
infants in the next life. They certainly enjoy the vision of 
God. But there is considerable diversity of opinion in 
regard to the unbaptized. Moreover, Christ commanded 
the Apostles to baptize all nations, and when a command has 
been given, there is a corresponding obligation to obey. 

St. Thomas Aquinas, qucest, v, de malo, goes on to show 
how infants, dying without baptism, though deprived of the 
beatific vision, still are not affected with sadness, on that 
account. Those souls know they were created for a certain 
happiness, but they are not aware that such bliss consists in 
the clear vision of God, and that they are excluded from its 
enjoyment on account of original sin. 

Hence, they are free from all sorrow, but are excluded 
from that ineffable glory which the sacrament of baptism 
would have opened to them. 



356 



ALETHAURION. 



How sad to think that, even in a country like this, where 
the name of Christ is known, and where ignorant sects rant 
so much about baptism, yet thousands of little children are 
allowed to perish yearly without having had poured upon 
them the waters of regeneration. 

Let us, in conclusion, admire the true Church, that grand 
old institution that speaks to man in the name and by the 
authority of God, and defines, with infallible clearness, his 
duty to his Maker, to his neighbor, to himself, and to his 
children from the cradle even to the coffin. 

Purgatory will next claim our attention. 



CHAPTER LXXXV. 



CONCERXTXG PURGATORY . 

Having finished our explorations of hell, we next come to 
purgatory. It may be defined as a middle state of souls 
suffering for a time on account of their sins. 

Let us bes;in with a statement of what the Church teaches 
on the subject, and what we are in consequence bound to be- 
lieve ; then, having finished our task, we can devote the re- 
mainder of the time to speculation. 

Rigorously speaking, there are only two things that we, 
as Catholics, must believe in regard to the place or state in 
question. First : That it exists. Second : That the souls 
therein detained are aided by our prayers and by the sacri- 
fice of the mass. 

Any one admitting those two points may then give full 
play to his imagination ; figure to himself a purgatory 
according to his fancy, and no one will have the right to call 
him a heretic for doing so. Such is the length of his 
tether, and such the circle within which he is allowed to 
prance and caper. 

There are as many different opinions in regard to the 



ALETHAURION. 



357 



location of purgatory as there are with respect to the site of 
Pluto's gloomy realm. 

Some imagine it to be within the earth, and not far off 
from hell ; others, that it is on the surface of our globe, and 
that each one is punished in the very locality where he com- 
mitted the worst, or the greatest number of his sins. 

Neither do we know what kind of punishments those souls 
are compelled to endure, nor how long a time they have to 
stay. Fire is the safest word to use in this connection, and, 
as to the limit or term of imprisonment, it is better not to 
be too exact. 

Soto, a theologian of some reputation, thought ten of our 
years sufficient for all purgative purposes ; whereas, there 
are others who defer the time of grace and deliverance, for 
not a few, until the morning of doomsday. 

Purgatory will certainly continue until that period. But 
it does not appear reasonable to the writer to suppose that 
an individual man is detained there many centuries, nor even 
for any great number of years. Intense pain and short time 
would answer the purpose quite as well as the sting of a bee 
fifty times a day, with ten centuries to endure such annoy- 
ance. 

We might, also, at this point, raise the question as to 
whether the punishment of all are of the same intensity in 
purgatory. 

At first sight it would appear that they ought not to be, 
for the sins of men vary in malice and in number. But, on 
a second thought, when we recollect that God can so grade 
the time as to give each the salting he deserves, we will 
readily see that no absurdity would follow from saying that 
all now in purgatory suffer alike, or to the same degree of 
intensity. From this it does not, however, follow that the 
instrument of punishment must be the same for all. 

Two men here may suffer equally — the one from the tooth- 
ache and the other from cramp colic. We may now proceed 



358 



ALETHAURION . 



to establish the fact that there is a purgatory, and that the 
souls iu it are helped by our prayers. 

The best argument on this, as on all other questions 
touching faith and morals, is the authority of the Church, 
And, in reasoning with heretics, that point ought to be par- 
ticularly insisted upon. It is the Church that teaches. To 
it was confided by the Saviour the task of preserving pure, 
and propagating through the ages, all that God has revealed 
as necessary to salvation. 

On occasion we make use of the Scriptures in arguing 
with heretics. But the most confoundino; argument of all is 
to establish the fact that Christ founded a Church, that 
He commissioned it to teach all nations, that He made it 
infallible and indefectible, and that the Church thus founded 
and endowed, is the very same as that of which Leo XIII, 
is to-day the acknowledged head. 

These facts can be established with the greatest ease. 
Hence, even though we should grant that not even one word 
nor allusion to purgatory could be found in the Scriptures, 
the doctrine would still be credible, for the Church teaches 
it. And the Church has preserved a knowledge of all that 
Christ taught ; whereas, the Scriptures contain only a por- 
tion of what God has revealed to man. 

The first bishops of the Catholic Church, viz : the Apos- 
tles and Evangelists, wrote the New Testament ; but they 
did not reduce to writing all that Christ taught, as many 
important truths have been handed down by tradition. 

The Fathers of the Council of Trent, Session vi, canon 30, 

treating of justification, speak in the following unequivocal 

terms of purgatory. 

" If any one says that by the grace of justification the guilt and eternal 
punishment are so remitted to the penitent that no future temporal pun- 
ishment remains to be endured either in this world or in the next life 
in purgatory, before entering the kingdom of heaven, let him be anath. 
ema." 

Again, Session xxii, canon 3. 



ALETHAURION. 



359 



" If any one says that the sacrifice of the mass is not propitiatory ; that 
it ought not be offered for the living and the dead, for sins, chastisements 
satisfactions, and other necessities, let him be anathema." 

From these canons we learn that when one has committed 
a mortal sin, he must suffer a temporal punishment either 
in this world or in 'purgatory ; even after the sin itself has 
been forgiven in the sacrament of penance. The heretics 
of our time deny this, and maintain that when God pardons 
a sin lie also remits the punishment. 

Hence, according to their system, the robber who has 
spent his life in pillage, murder and iniquity of every sort, 
if he repents the instant before death, will escape all pun- 
ishment for his crimes and go straight to glory. This does 
not look reasonable. It is not rendering to man according 
to his works. Our opponents point to the parable of the pro- 
digal son, who was received with open arms on his return 
home by his father ; but the two cases are not parallel. 

The prodigal suffered for his evil deeds in this world, by 
having been compelled to herd with swine and endure hun- 
ger. The one under consideration is that of a successful 
rogue, who has cheated, robbed and killed, and yet escaped 
punishment in this life. 

Is he to get off free also in the next ? Not if God is such 
as He has revealed Himself to be. When Adam sinned he 
was forgiven, on repentance, but he had to suffer temporal 
punishment. 

King David offended God mortally, by murder and adul- 
tery ; and though the guilt and eternal chastisement were 
here also condoned, yet he did not escape, for he had to 
bear temporal woes, sent him because of his crimes. 

Having, therefore, once established the fact that God 
forgives the sin and eternal punishment due to it, upon 
repentance, without exempting the sinner from temporal 
chastisements, we have the strongest argument for the 
existence of a purgatory. 

For as the sinner who becomes reconciled on his death-bed 



360 



^LETHAURION. 



has not done penance in this life, he must do it in the 
future state. Not in hell, because he is made by repentance 
the friend of God ; not in heaven, for there is all happiness, 
consequently in purgatory. 

The custom from the earliest ages of offering up prayers 
and sacrifices for the purpose of the faithful departed, ap- 
proved by the same Tridentine Fathers, is also a proof of 
the belief in the existence of a middle state. 

We here give a few quotations from some very ancient 
writings, which show what was the belief in primitive times 
regarding purgatory. 

St. DtONYsrus, the Areopagite, the man whom St. Paul 
converted at Athens, in his tract on the Ecclesiastical Hier- 
archy, chapter 7, speaking of a portion of the public service, 
says : 

" The venerable prelate, approaching, goes on with a holy prayer for 
the dead ; he prays the Divine clemency to great pardon to the de- 
ceased for those sins committed through human frailty, and that he may 
receive a place in light and in the land of the living. " 

This is as clear a case of praying a man out of purgatory 

as any one can ask for. And Dionysius, who indorses it, 

was a convert of St. Paul. Again, Tertullian, De Corona, 

chapters 3 and 4, says : 

"We make oblations for the dead, on the anniversaries of their death. 
(Pro natalitiis annua die.) If you seek a Scriptural precept for this, you 
will not find any : tradition is the author of it, custom confirms it, and 
the faith observes it. r ' 

A splendid proof of the belief in a purgatory among the 
primitive Christians, may also be found in the acts 
of St. Perpetua. To quote the entire passage would 
take up too much space. But we give the substance. 

She relates how she saw, in a vision, her brother Dinoc- 
uates, seven years of age, suffering in purgatory, aud that 
after she had prayed for him, his pains entirely ceased. 

We do not think it worth while to give quotations from 
any of those Fathers that lived after the second century ; 
and to quote a modern writer would of course be unneces- 



ALETHAURION. 



361 



sary. Even heretics admit that the belief in purgatory goes 
back to the second century. We know it does, and beyond 
that period. . 

There are also many passages of scripture that confirm 

us in this constant belief, which may be used in disputing 

with heretics. In Matthew xii, 32, Christ says : 

" Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall he 
forgiven him ; bnt he that shall speak against the Holy Ghost it shall not 
be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the ivorld to come. 

A pretty clear proof we should think, that there is a pur- 
gatory. For in heaven there is no sin to be forgiven, and 
out of hell there is no redemption. 

In Acts ii, 24, St. Luke speaks of Christ as having 
* 'loosed the sorrows of hell.*' What more natural inter- 
pretation can be given to this than the liberation of those 
souls who died in venial sins before His coming. 

No one went to heaven before Christ. The good were 
all in an intermediate state. Let the heretics tell us when 
that ceased to exist ? 

Again, i Cor. hi, 13, St. Paul says : 

" The fire shall try every man's work : .... if any man's work 
burn, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire." 

Hasn't this being saved by fire something of the smell of 
purgatory about it? 

We might also cite many more passages of scripture in 
which allusions are made to a middle state, but let one 
other suffice. Machabees ii, chap, xii, 46. The inspired 
writer says : 

" It is a holy and a wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they 
may be loosed from their sins." 

This shows that the Jews before Christ believed in pur- 
gatory, and they were taught by prophets sent directly by 
God to lead them in the true way. 

We will speak in the next chapter of the resurrection of 
the body. 



i 



362 



ALETHAURION = 



CHAPTER LXXXV1. 



THE KESUKRECTION OF THE BODY. 

That the bodies of all men will, on the last day, be re- 
united with their souls, and arise from the dead, is an article 
of faith taught by the Church, and believed by the faithful 
from the beginning. 

The heretics of the present day also believe this truth, 
but Infidels, out of a spirit of contradiction, like the man 
who used to button his coat behind, will not admit, nor lis- 
ten to a doctrine. 

We will therefore, in the first place, show that the resur- 
rection of the body is a part of Revelation, in the second, 
that it is comformable to right reason ; in the third, we will 
answer some objections ; and in the fourth, indulge in spec- 
ulations concerning the qualities of the body after the 
reunion. 

Centuries before the birth of Christ, Job, inspired by the 
Holy Ghost, gave expression to his belief, in the follow- 
ing words : 

"I know," said he, " that my Kedeeroerliveth; and on the last day I 
shall rise out of the earth; and I shall be clothed again with my skin, and 
in my flesh. I shall see my God ; whom I myself shall see, and my eyes 
shall behold, and not another; this, my hope, is laid up in my bosom."' 
Job, ix, 25, 27. 

Job was a cotemporary of Moses, as is generally sup- 
posed, and lived about fifteen hundred years before Christ. 

We may presume that in the above quotation he expresses, 
not only his own belief, but also that of his time, in a resur- 
rection. 

That the Jews, who lived a century and a half before the 
Saviour's birth, were in a like manner possessed of the same 

i 



ALETHAURION. 



363 



hope, we have proof in the second book Machabees, xii, 43, 
where it is stated that Judas Machabees, after one of his 
battles with the army of King Antiochus, sent money to 
the temple at Jerusalem, to have sacrifices offered for the 
sins of those who had fallen in defense of their faith and 
country, i 'thinking well and religiously," says the scripture, 
4 4 concerning the resurrection." 

We may here observe, however, that about one hundred 
years before the period in question, there sprang into exis- 
tence, among the Jews, a sect called the Sadducees, who 
denied the immortality of the soul, the existence of angels, 
and also the resurrection of the body. 

The Sadducees were never very numerous, but they were 
rich, and for the most part office holders. 

They maintained that God rewards men for their good 
deeds, and punishes them for their vices, in this world. And 
as things went well with them here, they esteemed them- 
selves the pick and choice fruit in the Lord's vineyard — his 
own especial pets and favorites. 

These modern writers and speakers, who measure a 
nation's sanctity by its temporal prosperity, are all Saddu- 
cees in principle. Occasionally they may come in contact 
with the Saviour. And it was they who proposed that 
well-known puzzle of the woman who had been married con- 
secutively to the seven brothers. 

They asked whose shall she be in the resurrection ? 

He had but little patience with such malicious blockheads. 
Hence he cut them off short, by saying that the mistake was 
due to their ignorance of scripture and the power of God. 
Then he quoted a passage from the Penteteuch, the only 
books admitted by the Sadducees, to show that there would 
be a resurrection : 

"Have you not read," said he, " that which was spoken by God, say- 
ing to you : I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the 
God of Jacob. He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." 



364 



ALETHAURION. 



The Saviour, in arguing with his opponents, did not waste 
words, but often confounded them by a single question. 

The Apostle Paul teaches the same doctrine in all those 
places where he introduces an antithesis between the sin and 
death we inherit from Adam, and the justification aud life 
we gain through Christ. Now, his argument would not be 
complete without the resurrection of the body. Consult 
Eomans v, 12-21; Hebrews, ix, 27-28; 1 Cor., xv, 20. 

He also warns his Disciple Timothy, whom he had made 
Bishop of Ephesus, to beware of those who deny the future 
resurrection, by maintaining that it has already taken place. 
II Tim., 2, 16. 

The same is also clearly laid down in John, v, 28: 

" Wonder not at this." says the Saviour, "for the hour cometh wherein 
all that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God." 

It is quite evident that reference is here made not to a 
spiritual, but to a corporal resurrections for the spirit is pre- 
sumed not to be in the grave, but only the body. 

Thus we have seen that the resurrection of the body is a 
revealed truth. It cannot, therefore, contradict reason, 
though it may be above it. 

Three of the most ancient Fathers of the Church — 
Athexagorus, Irextxs and Tertulliax — have spoken of 
this subject in such a way that but little more remains to be 
said. 

We shall here only give the reasoning of Tertulliax, as 
it includes that of the other two. In his book (de JResurrec- 
tione Carnis) he treats the subject in the following masterly 
way. We, of course, do not pretend to give anything more 
than a synopsis. 

His first argument is this: The flesh or body is worthy 
of a resurrection, therefore it will arise. He proves its 
worthiness. 

First, because the body was created by God to the image 
of His Son, who was to come 



ALETHAURION. 



365 



Second, the body is worthy, because it is the casket of 
the soul created to the image of God. 

Third, the body is the companion and partner of the 
soul, whether hi virtue or in sin, hence it ought to be a. 
sharer of its glory or pain. 

Fourth, the "body is worthy, because through it the soul 
receives the graces of the Sacraments, practices the Christian 
virtues, and gains the crown of martyrdom. 

Terttjllian's second argument may be expressed as fol- 
lows : God can cause the body to rise again, and as it is 
worthy, therefore He will raise it to life. That God can 
cause the body to rise, will not be questioned, since he cre- 
ated it ; and it is no more difficult to resurrect than to 
create. 

His third argument is that the whole man ought to appear 
before God to be judged, as it was the whole man that lived 
here on earth. 

In the fourth and last place he argues that, inasmuch 
as Christ died for man, he will save not only his soul, but 
also his body. For Christ came to restore all that Adam 
had lost. And, as in the first Adam, we lose the life of 
the body, so in the second we regain it. 

These form the principal arguments, drawn from reason, 
for the resurrection of the body, and certainly no better 
ones are known to the writer. 

Let us now take up a few objections. They may be 
reduced to two principal ones. 

First : Take the case of a cannibal, or man-eating savage, 
who has fed for a dozen years on 4 'long pig." At the 
resurrection, how will those who were eaten get back the 
substance of their bodies from the Cannibal, since, by a pro- 
cess of nature, it has become a part of his body? In other 
words, which of them will rise with the flesh that was 
eaten ? 

Secondly: It has been demonstrated that there is a total 
change in the human system every seven years, so that there 



366 



ALETHAURION. 



is not, except by accident, one particle now in our composi- 
tion that was there seven years ago. 

Take then a man who has departed this life at the age of 
forty-nine. Such a one evidently had in this life seven dif- 
ferent bodies. Which of these will he have at the resurrec- 
tion? Or will he arise with all seven, and so present before 
the judgment seat the appearance of a man who had been 
brought up on beer and whale-blubber? 

These are tart questions, but we shall attempt to answer 
them. Let us suppose the Cannibal spoken of ate his man 
just seven years ago ; it is then evident that Mr. Loxgpig 
could now arise with the same body he had when eaten, as 
not a particle of it is to be found in the savage. 

Again, suppose the cannibal had died one month after 
having eaten Loxgpig, then he (Loxgpig) could arise with 
the body he had seven years previous to his capture, and 
still it would be the same body he had in this life. 

A little more difficult case is the following : Suppose a 
young cannibal, six years of age, should eat Loxgpig's son, 
also of six years, and die of the meal; it is evident, in this 
case, that neither could take the body he had seven years 
before. 

This case, however, when looked closely into, does not 
present as much difficulty as at first sight. If the essence 
of the human body consisted in its retaining always the same 
molecules or particles of matter, then indeed there would be 
a difficulty, for the same molecules have evidently formed 
part of two distinct human beings; but, change of substance 
in the human body no more destroys its essence, than change 
of water does that of a pond. 

Hence, God could supply extraneous particles where there 
was a deficiency, without in the least affecting the identity 
of a given body. The reader will not admit that he has lost 
his identity within the past seven years, even though there 
has in that time taken place a total change in the particles 
that make up his body. 



ALETH AURION . 



367 



The stamen originate, as philosophers call it, is still the 
same. Moreover, personal identity principally consists in 
the interior sentiment, which renders testimony to us that 
we are the same persons now we were seven years ago, or 
from infancy. 

We defer until the next chapter some speculations on the 
quali-ies the body will possess after it has risen. 



CHAPTER LXXXVII. 



OTB CHARACTER AND QUALITIES OF THE BODY AFTER HAVING 
ARISEN FROM THE DEAD. 

Having shown that the body will surely arise on the last 
day, we now come to examine into its character, and to specu- 
late on the qualities it will possess. 

First of all, it may be laid down as certain that men will 
rise immortal. 

The necessity of dying came by the sin of Adam. But 
Christ, by His passion, restores to us all that we lost through 
the first man. 

Hence, at the resurrection of the just, it will be as if Adam 
had never sinned. The defects in nature, caused by his fall, 
will be repaired. 

The death of Christ destroys death: at present in its 
cause, and hereafter in act. "O death, I will be thy death," 
Osee, xiii, 14. "And the enemy death shall be destroyed 
last." I Cor., xv, 26. "Christ, rising again from the 
dead, dieth now no more." Romans, vi, 9. 

His resurrection is the type of what ours will be. If men 
died again after the resurrection, it could not be said with 
truth that Christ conquered death. But he has triumphed 
over it. At the resurrection men will rise with the proper 
proportions . 

And the Great Sculptor, who chiseled to perfection the first 



368 



ALETHAURION. 



man, will remedy the defects of nature in His descendants. 
What a consolation this to the decrepid and time-worn of 
our race, who have outlived youth and its charms, to know 
that they will again be made as good as new ; that long lost 
teeth will be restored, wrinkles and crows' feet smoothed 
away forever, and raven tresses take the place of dyed hemp 
and scanty locks ! It will be a great day for the ladies - 
Yea, verily. 

After the resurrection there will be no further need of 
food nor drink, neither shall there be marrying nor giving in 
marriage. 

The former are necessary now to counteract the waste con- 
tinually taking place in the human system. But, in the 
resurrection, men will arise with incorruptible bodies, and 
the proper quantity of matter to each, incapable of increase 
or diminution thereafter. 

4 'It is sown an animal body, it shall rise a spiritual body," 
says St. Paul, I Cor., v, 44. As food and drink sustain 
animal life here, thus shall the immortal spirit keep the 
body in everlasting youth hereafter. 

So also in this life, as individuals die, marrying and being 
given in marriage is a necessity to prevent the extinction of 
the species. 

But in the future life, the individual being free from 
death, the species cannot become extinct, and hence there 
will no longer be a necessity for the nuptial tie. 

There will be, however, a distinction of sex in those who 
arise, for this is one of the essentials. Some have thought 
otherwise, but their opinion appears to have but little or no 
foundation. 

It troubles many curious people to know whether negroes 
will rise black and greasy, as in this life. While we do not 
approve of the spirit in which such questions are generally 
asked, still it may interest the reader that we give our views 
on the subject. 

First of all, it is well to bear in mind that he whom God 



ALETHAUKION. 



369 



judges worthy of a place in heaven, will be fit company for 
all he finds there before him, or may come after — even 
though his pelt were as tar. 

The writer, however, does not think that those of the race 
of Ham, who shall have the good fortune to be with the just, 
will rise with those defects of feature and color which are 
here observable. 

It is a doctrine of our holy faith that all men have a com- 
mon origin and a common destiny. Whatever defects have 
in the course of ages been produced by climate and mode of 
life*, or by freak of nature, will, at the resurrection, be 
properly remedied. A black skin, fiat nose, and lips 
out of proportion, we scarcely think were in the original 
contract. 

There is no more reason why an African, whose ancestors, 
for generations, lived exposed to a torrid sun, should rise 
black, than that an American gentleman, who has spent his 
days in carousing and drinking bad whiskey, should rise 
with a red face, and a nose set with carbuncles. 

Persons who live condemned in subterranean dungeons, 
acquire an unnatural paleness and a sickly hue. Are we to 
suppose that such will also be their color in the day of 
resurrection? It does not look reasonable that it should 
be so. 

The probability, therefore, is that whatever was Adam's 
color before the fall, such will also be that of risen men. 
And as to those defects of form and feature, which we now 
observe in some, they will be remedied by the brush and 
chisel of the Great Architect. 

Hunchbacks will be straightened, dwarfs lengthened, 
giants shortened, bloats tapped, and cross-eyed ladies 
remodeled. Possibly the just will have the power of assum- 
ing, at pleasure, whatever features or shape they choose. 

We read in the Acts of the Apostles how two Disciples, on 
their way to Emaus, met the Saviour, and }^et did not recog- 
nize Him, though His earthly form and expression of coun- 
tenance must have been familiar. He had evidently changed, 



370 



ALETHAURION. 



for the time being, His appearance, yet retained His 
identity. 

Let not those who are homely, therefore, murmur at their 
lot ; nor those who have had the small-pox bewail with too 
many tears the loss of their beauty. 

Time will make all things even. It will be all the same 
one hundred years from now. But let those who love beauty 
of form so live as to deserve it. Now it is a gift, then it will 
be the reward of merit. Goodness and beauty, which are 
here separable, will be there combined, and the extent of 
the one will be the measure of the other. 

Another quality that the just will possess, after the resur- 
rection, will be that of agility, by which the body will be 
entirely under the control of the spirit. 

At present we possess it to a limited extent, for the body 
here obeys the soul, and walks or lies at rest as the spirit 
directs. 

Nevertheless, all our actions now are accompanied with 
fatigue. After the reunion we will have the power of pass- 
ing from place to place with the quickness of thought. Our 
bodies, as St. Paul says, will be spiritual, that is, entirely 
under the control of the spirit, and obedient to its behests. 

From what has been said thus far, it will not be difficult 
to surmise at what age men will rise from the tomb. It will 
be at that period of life when there is the greatest vigor of 
mind and body. 

Christ in this, as in all things else that are good and 
glorious, is the model. His resurrection is the pattern of 
what ours will be. And as He arose about the age of thirty- 
three years, so shall the just. 

The aged will leave discreptitude in the grave, and appear 
again in the prime of manhood. Infants, snatched by death 
from the arms of weeping mothers, will present themselves 
once more in the flesh, not the helpless things they were, 
but in the bloom and vigor of youth, with bodies and 
minds such as they would have had if length of days had 
been granted. 



ALETHAURION. 



371 



There are many useless, vain and idle questions that here 
present themselves. As, for example, what will be the 
length of the hair, beard and nails, at the resurrection; 
whether the heart will beat, and the blood continue to circu- 
late as now; whether our knowledge of surrounding things 
will be gained through the senses, or in some other way. 

To such questions we may answer, in general terms, that 
men will rise with the same bodies, and with all their essen- 
tial parts and actions. 

Hence, that the heart will beat; that the blood will circu- 
late through the veins and arteries ; that the eyes will see, 
the ears hear, etc., appear credible. As to the length of the 
hair, beard and nails, we may answer that the sacred human- 
ity of our Lord furnishes us the example by which to form a 
judgment. 

We are not to presume that Mynheer Stehrenfluter 
will take his seventy-five inches of beard with him to Para- 
dise, for his was an abnormal growth. Neither should we 
suppose that he will appear shaved and powdered amidst the 
Cherub ims. 

The reunion of the soul and body will be instantaneous, 
and will take place here on the surface of the earth. No 
sooner will the archangel have pronounced the words, 4 'arise 
ye dead, and come to judgment," than by the almighty 
power of God the elements that have composed the bodies 
of all men since Adam, will be drawn together from the 
four winds, and each soul will repossess its earthly 
mansion. 

Christ will then appear in the heavens, seated on the 
throne of His Majesty, and all the angels with Him. The 
just will rise to meet Him in the air, and will be placed at 
His right hand. 

Then at the words, "come, ye blessed of My Father, pos- 
sess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of 
the world," their bodies will be glorified, and they will shine 
like stars around His tbrone. 



372 



ALETHAURION . 



The reprobate, with bodies also immortal and incor- 
ruptible, but not changed, will remain below at His left, 
surrounded by demons. And at the words, * ' depart from 
me, accursed," a mighty whirlwind will come from the 
north and sweep them, body and soul,, into the dreary abode 
of the damned; and the separation will be final. 

\Then we meditate on the things that will take place on 
that awful day, how vain is the greatness of this world, and 
how insufficient and unsatisfactory any success that is not 
eternal. "\\Tiat doth it profit a man if he gain the whole 
world, and lose his own soul." 

Before returning to the life and times of St. Paul, we 
will have yet a few more words on magic. 

Our next will be on divination. 



CHAPTER LXXXVIII. 



DIVINATION, OR FORTUNE TELLING. 

Prom the most remote times, men have manifested the 
desire of peering into the future, to find out, before the 
proper time, what might be in the eternal decrees. 

A little reflection will convince us that such curiosity, 
when unlawful means are employed, is not only absurd, but 
sinful. It is a revolt against the providence of God. He 
has willed that our knowledge here should be, as it is, very 
limited, in order that we might feel our weakness, and at all 
times put our trust in Himself. 

If more light had been necessary or useful, God would 
have given it. He has revealed of the future all that it is 
essential we should know. Our present duties and future 
destiny are plain ; and what more can a truly rational man 
desire ? 

God does not forbid us to consult Him, should we wish to 
know more than He has granted, in the ordinary course of 



ALETHAUEION. 



373 



His providence. The patriarchs of the Old Law foretold 
many events that were to come; and divers saints, since the 
time of our Lord, have had the gift of prophecy. 

But to have recourse to divination, which consists in the 
employment of unlawful means to discover the future, He 
does not permit. Levit., xix; Deut., xviii. 

It would be impossible, may be undesirable, to point out 
all the means that silly people make use of to determine 
what is to come. 

But we ma % y allude briefly to the principal ones.' Among 
the most important was judicial astrology. This consisted in 
examining the heavenly bodies, clouds, meteors, etc., and 
from their relative positions, at a given instant, drawing con- 
clusions as to the future life of some person, or the ultimate 
consequences of a notable event. 

The taking of such an observation was called a horoscope ; 
and for ages implicit faith was put in the verdict the stars 
had rendered. 

It might at first appear that when men had gained a 
knowledge of even the first principles of astronomy, astrology 
would have ceased. 

Nevertheless, the ancient Chaldeans, who were skilled in 
the former science, were also the most superstitiously 
addicted to the latter practice. 

Nor is it alone in primitive and Pagan times that this 
absurdity held sway over the minds of men. 

Louis XIII, of France, got the title of Just solely from 
the fact that he was born under the sign of the balance ; and 
at the birth of his successor, Louis XIY, the baby's horo- 
scope was taken with the greatest possible gravity and 
circumstance. 

During the regency of Maeia de Medicis, the astrologers 
waxed fat, for ladies were horoscoped then as frequently as 
they are now photographed. 

Astrology is so absurd, on the face of it, that to even rid- 
icule it would be lost time. And yet, even in our day, there 



374 



ALETHAUKION. 



are persons who profess it, and others silly enough to en- 
courage the deception by paying the deceivers. 

The second sort of divination most extensively practiced 
among the ancients, was called augury. This consisted in 
observing the flight, movements or cries of certain birds, and 
drawing conclusions respecting the future therefrom. It 
was noticed that certain ones of the feathery tribe presaged 
good weather by their presence, and foretold storms of wind 
and rain by their cries. 

Hence, it was inferred that they had the gift of prophecy. 

And cunning men were not wanting, who professed ability 

to understand their language. 

© © 

Among the ancient Romans, no affair of great importance 

was undertaken without consulting the augurs. And their 

© © 

decisions were regarded with superstitious awe by the vul- 
gar. 

At the capitol there was kept, at the public expense, a 
flock of sacred geese, that played a very considerable part 
in politics. Their cackling, at unwonted times, was eagerly 
listened to by the augurs ; and any variation of the manner 
in which a holy gander flapped his wings, or cocked up his 
toes, was duly discussed and recorded for future reference. 

It must be said, however, that the more enlightened had 
but little confidence in those auguries. Nevertheless, the 
Roman generals before engaging in battle, were careful to 
let it be known to the soldiers, that all the signs were pro- 
pitious, and that they would certainly gain the victory. 

The augurs helped along the deception, and, if results 
were unsatisfactory, there was never any difficulty in find- 
ing an excuse. 

A third sort of divination, was that made from an inspec- 
tion of the gall and entrails of animals. This was called a 
hauruspice. It is well-known that the salubrity of the air 
and the quality of the soil, has a good deal to do with the 
appearance of the intestines of birds and beasts. 

But superstition could not let the matter rest at that point , 



ALETHAUKION. 



375 



and the hauruspices pretended to be able to trace, in certain 
marks on the liver, lights and gall, of a victim, the course 
of future contingent events. 

This sort of divination was very popular with the herd, for 
they were permitted to eat of the flesh of the victims, and 
praise the gods for vouchsafing such comforts to men. 

It is still practiced by some old women ; not any longer 
upon the entrails of birds or beasts, as of yore, but upon tea 
leaves and coffee-grounds. And these also find people fool- 
ish enough to encourage deception by paying for it. 

A fourth species of divination was that by means of ora- 
cles. There were very many of these in Pagan times, where 
the gods revealed in various ways, to certain chosen souls, 
what the future would beget. But, celebrated above all 
others, were the oracles of Delphos, Dodona, Trophonius 
and Amnion. 

The first was situated at the foot of Mount Parnassus, in 
the territory of Phocis, in Greece. The mountain itself was 
sacred to the nine muses, and the oracle to the prince of 
muses, Apollo. 

It was discovered by accident, in the following manner : ' 
Some goats that fed among the rocks at the foot of the 
mount, on approaching the mouth of a cave, were observed 
by the herdsman to be affected in a strange way, by a gas 
that issued therefrom. 

Approaching the mouth of the chasm, it was discovered 
that men were also influenced, and, while under its power, 
spoke in an incoherent and prophetic strain. It was not long 
before the fame of Delphos spread far and wide. 

A temple was erected on the spot, and all the machinery 
of Pagan superstition set going. At first any one who in- 
haled the vapor prophesied. But, in course of time, a 'special 
priestess was consecrated for the purpose. 

She sat on a tripod over the mouth of the cave, when 
about to give the responses of Apollo. The prophets who 
stood around received her words, and, having arranged 



376 



ALETHAUEIOX. 



and interpreted, gave them to inferior ministers to put in 
verse. 

Thus, it will be observed that there was here a fine oppor- 
tunity open to rascality and manipulation. 

Possibly, Satax may have had a part in the business, and 
helped to give life and expression to the work. 

One thing is certain, that some of those responses of the 
Delphian oracle that historians have handed down, are mas- 
terpieces of wit and cunning. 

Thus, when Cecesus, King of Lydia, consulted the oracle 
to know whether he would be successful against Cyrus, the 
pythoness answered, that "if his army crossed the river 
Halys, a great empire would be destroyed.'' Cecesus 
thought his enemy's empire was meant, but it was his 
own. 

Pyeehus, King of Epirus, wishing to engage in war with 
the Eomans, also sought advice at Delphos, and got the fol- 
lowing ambiguous reply in Latin: "Dico te JEachide 
Romanos vincere posse." I tell thee, O son of JEachus, the 
Eomans can conquer thee, or thou canst conquer the Ro- 
mans ; it will translate either way. 

Crassus, before engaging in war with the Parthians, sent 
gifts to Delphos, and was told: "Ibis et redibis nunquam 
peribis in bello." That is, you will go and return, you will 
never perish in war : or, you will go and never return, you 
will perish in war. Ceassus went and he fell by the treach- 
ery of his enemies. 

Our next will be a continuation. 



CHAPTER LXXXIX. 



OEACLES. 

In the last chapter we spoke of the celebrated Delphian 
Oracle, whose priestess gave responses so neatly worded, 
that, whether heads or tails turned up, the prophecy would 



ALETHAURION. 



377 



he true. The demon thus concealed his ignorance of future 
contingent events, and at the same time gave satisfaction to 
his dupes. 

From Delphos let us pass to Dodona. This town was sit- 
uated in Epirus, one of the states of ancient Greece. 

The oracle at Dodona was not so celebrated, nor so rich 
as the Delphian ; but it had the honor of being the most 
.ancient in the land. Herodotus, book I, chap. 25. 

According to the account given by the priestesses, it had 
its origin in the following singular manner : 

One day two black doves flew away from the city of 
Thebes, in Egypt, one of which stopped at Libya, but the 
other continued its flight until it had arrived in the little 
village above named. 

There, perched among the branches of an aged oak tree, 
it pronounced, with a clear and distinct voice, these words : 
* 'Establish ye here an oracle in honor of Jupiter." 

The people were justly surprised at hearing a pigeon talk, 
and set to work to do as they were bidden. 

To us it might appear that this black dove was no other 
than an angel, sent from the abyss to draw the people into 
idolatry. 

Strabo, however, Sup. VII, tells us that, in the language 
of ancient Epirus, the word for dove meant also an old 
woman. 

It would appear therefore, that, instead of a pigeon it was 
a witch from the banks of the Nile, who first introduced 
fortune-telling at Dodona. 

In the time of Herodotus, three priestesses had the right 
'to announce the decisions of the oracle. But, whenever the 
^Boeotians consulted it, they received Jupiter's response 
through a servant. None of the priestesses would deign a 
reply, because of the following circumstance : 

At one time, when about to engage in war, they made in- 
quiries at Dodona as to the result. The priestess told them 
that if they desired success, "they should first commit an 



378 



ALETHAURION. 



impiety" — i. e., take the sacred tripods of gold that were in 
their temple, and place them in that of Jupiter at Dodona. 

The Boeotians, though not quick-witted, suspected rog- 
uery. So they took the priestess and threw her in the fire, 
remarking at the same time : "If she has deceived us she 
merits death ; and if she has told the truth, we obey the 
oracle." 

Ever after the priestesses and the Boeotians were at 
variance. 

Future events were revealed to those ladies in many ways. 
Sometimes they heard the voice of Jupiter from the 
branches and rustling leaves of the sacred oak that stood 
near the temple. 

At other times the murmuring of a brook that flowed 
through the grove made known what was to be. The ting- 
ling of brazen vessels within the temple, had also a meaning 
to the witches' ears, as the clicking of the instrument has for 
the operator at the telegraph office. 

The oracle of Dodona was also consulted by means of lots 
drawn from an urn. The Spartans, at one time took this 
method of finding out what would be the result of an expe- 
dition they were about to undertake. But, while the draw- 
ing was going on, a monkey that belonged to the King of 
the Molassians, jumped on the table, upset the urn and scat- 
tered the lots. 

This was a bad omen, and the priestess told the ambassa- 
dors that the "Spartans, instead of dreaming about victories,, 
should begin to think of their own safety." They returned^ 
and, having told the response, never before was there such_ 
terror among a people so celebrated for bravery. Cicero 
de divin. torn. 3, lib. I, cap. 34. 

The third of the great Grecian oracles was that of Tropho- 
nius, which was in an immense cave near the village of 
Lebadea, in Boeotia. 

Trophoxius was the architect of the temple of Apollo, at 
Delphos, and having done a good job, he felt warranted in 



ALETHAURION. 



379 



asking a favor. Apollo made known that his request 
would be granted in seven days, at the end of which he 
died. 

It leaked out after his exit, that he and his brother, 
Agamedes, while building the temple had made a secret 
passway by which to enter at night and steal away the gifts. 
This had the appearance of an irregularity, but it did not 
prevent his countrymen from decreeing him divine honors. 
The existence of the passway was explained, on the suppo- 
sition that Trophoxius wished to have access to the temple 
by night — in order to pray. 

Responses were sometimes given viva voce in the cave at 
Lebadea. But, most generally, the will of the gods was 
made known by visions of fire. So terrible were these, that 
the person who had seen them once, was never the same 
man after. Hence, among the Greeks, it was customary to 
say of a very sad individual, that he had escaped from the 
cave of Trophonius. Aristopanes, Comedy of the Clouds. 

Moore, in the Epicurean, gives a fine description of the 
terrors of one of those prophetic caves. He locates it in 
Egypt. But, as the Greeks had borrowed most of their 
superstitions from the sorcerers of the Nile, we may take 
what he says as a description of the gymnastics and terrors 
of the cave of Trophoxius. 

Along with the three already named, there were many 
other oracles in Greece, but of minor importance. 

There was also in the desert of Libya, a renowned pro- 
phetic shrine, dedicated to Jupiter Ammox, and originally 
founded by one of those black pigeons already mentioned. 

About the time Alexaxder the Great took possession of 
Egypt, an overgrown and dogmatic priestess had charge of 
it, and, from her perch on a tripod, she made known what 
the fates had ordained. Alexaxder wanted to have his for- 
tune told. So, with some of his officers, he went to the 
shrine of Ammox, where they found the witch in her palace 
not far from the temple. 



380 



ALETHAUEION. 



She told hiru he came at the wrong time, and that he 
would have to wait two or three days before an answer could 
be given. That was too much for the son of Philip, and his 
officers seeing him on the point of boiling over, tried to 
soften the witch, first by coaxing, then by gold, and, at last, 
by threats. But she was inflexible. 

By this time Alexander had lost patients, and going up 
to her, said he : < 'As you will not go to the temple by mild 
means, I'll take you there." 

But as the hero went floundering along under his weight 
of prophecy, the witch suddenly ceased to struggle, and, in 
subdued tones she gasped : ' 'My son, thou art invincible." 
"That's enough," said Alexander, as he loosened his grip 
and drew a lon^ breath. "Not another word — for now I 
know that thou art truly inspired." And he ordered his 
purse bearer to give a large donation, for the purpose of 
keeping so holy a shrine in due repair. 

In the next chapter we will treat of dreams. 



CHAPTER XC. 



ON THE SUBJECT OF DREAMS. 

Most men sleep away nearly one-half their lives. And, 
if a person wanted to act contrary, it would not be easy to 
prove to him that he is not asleep and dreaming, also the 
other half. 

A German professor once thought so, and, in broad day- 
light when every one is presumed. to be awake, he taught his 
pupils that whatever they saw, heard, tasted or smelt, had no 
reality ; that our visions by day do not differ from our 
nightly dreams. 

He went farther, maintaining there was no other being 
but himself in existence. And himself he called Das Ich, 
or the great I am. The visible universe, and the changes 



ALETHAURION. 



381 



that take place in it, the professor regarded as evolutions of 
Das Ich, presented by itself to itself for contemplation. 

In a word, our philosopher denied all objective reality. 
The scholars- used to listen to this second Solomon with 
gaping mouths, though they found it difficult to see the 
point, or understand him. 

One day, however, a circumstance occurred which they 
thought would have sufficed to knock his subjectivity higher 
than a kite. 

As he was passing home through an alley, a couple of 
mongrels got to exchanging civilities, and frightened a mule 
that stood hitched to a swill cart. The mule, with the en- 
thusiasm to a recent convert, did not believe in the profes- 
sor's objective reality and ran over him. 

After having remained at the hospital for a month or 
more, under medical treatment, he returned to his chair; 
yet spoke of the accident in his usual way — as an evolu- 
tion of Das Ich presented by itself, for its own contem- 
plation. 

But the students thought it was the mule, in this case, 
that made the evolution, and left Das Ich only the contem- 
plation of it, and they were right. 

All created things have a reality with regard to us, and 
it would be useless to attempt to persuade ourselves that the 
objects we see are but phantoms of the brain. Man's inner- 
consciousness upsets all such philosophy. But if the Ger- 
man philosopher, by Das Ich, should have meant, not him- 
self, but God, then we confess that his fancies not only do 
not deserve ridicule, but are worthy of admiration. 

Viewed with respect to God, creation has not an objective 
reality, for " in Him we live and we move and we are." 
Acts xvii, 28, 

Pantheism identifies God and the universe, a doc- 
trine which cannot be admitted, without falling into 
many absurdities. The universe is not God, neither does 



382 



ALETHAUBION. 



it exist independent of Him. It is the dream of the Omni- 
potent. 

But let us drop to things that are more on a level with 
human understanding. The dreams of men are, generally 
speaking, nothing more than the wanderings of the imagina- 
tion, unregulated by the will, memory and understanding. 

To attempt to trace them up to their cause, would neces- 
sitate a paper on the origin of ideas, into w r hich we will not 
enter at present. 

Along with those that spring from natural causes, there 
are dreams that have an undoubted supernatural origin. 
Such come either from God, or His angels, or from the 
devil and his imps. The former are sometimes admonitory 
sometimes prophetic, but the latter are always delusive. 

How a spirit conveys its thought to one's mind while 
asleep is a mystery. But that it does so, cannot be ques- 
tioned. 

We have examples in scripture, where God, either directly 
or by the ministry of angels, made known to the dreamers 
what was to happen in the future, or else warned them 
against present danger. Such were the dreams of Joseph, 
Genesis, xxxvii ; of Pharaoh, Genesis, xli ; of Nabuche- 
donosor, Dan., iv ; and of St. Joseph, Matt., ii, 13. 

Hence, the sweeping assertion sometimes made that there 
is nothing in dreams, is false and un scriptural. We must 
distinguish and discriminate. 

But, when God sends a dream, he also connects with it 
such circumstances and motives of persuasion that the 
dreamer cannot doubt that it is of a supernatural kind. 
And without this interior illumination, it would be sinful to 
trust them or make them motives of action upon our part. 
Deuteronomy, xviii, 10 ; Jeremiah, xxix, 8. 

To place confidence in dreams is also forbidden by the 
Church ; and, in the council of Paris, held A. D., 826, the 
practice was declared a relic of Paganism. 

Some of the ancient Fathers, such as Cyril, of Jerusalem, 



ALETHAURION. 



383 



Gregory, of Nyssa, and Gregory the Great, wrote against it. 

In later times, John, of Salisbury, Peter de Blois, and 
others, did all in their power to dissipate the error. (See 
Thiers' Treatise on Superstitions.) • 

Here some one may ask* what harm can there be in giving 
credit to dreams? We reply, in the first place, the fact 
alone that God, through His authorized agents, the proph- 
ets and the Church, has forbidden it, is reason and motive 
enough to convince us there is danger in the practice. 

He has established on earth a society with power and 
authority to speak in His name ; and it is from it He wishes 
men to learn His will. He furnishes us with the means in 
abundance to gain all that is essential to our future safety. 

But that a mere atom should expect Him to deviate from 
the ordinary course of His providence, to satisfy a mere 
whim, or an idle curiosity, would be the height of presump- 
tion. 

Human society despises the mere fortune teller, and that 
individual has but a degraded notion of the Divinity who 
would conceive Him as whispering in one's ear at night the 
events of the following day. Nevertheless, we must not 
overlook nor affect to despise facts. 

Now, it has happened to multitudes of persons to have 
had dreams that were literally fulfilled, and many others 
have had such as might be regarded very strange, indeed ; 
the events which followed being taken into consideration. 

The writer knows a man who, some few days before the 
death of the late illustrious and lamented Pros IX, had a 
somewhat remarkable experience in the land of Morpheus. 
It was night, and, turning his gaze upwards to the sky, he 
saw, at an angle of about forty-five degrees to the north- 
east, a cluster of stars, one of which was larger and shone 
brighter than the rest. 

While looking at this constellation, lo and behold, that 
star which was the brightest shot downwards through the 
sky, until it struck the earth. When the star had fallen, 



384 



ALETHAUKION. 



there was a silence as of a few seconds, and then a murmur 
of many voices. But no sooner had it touched the earth, 
than a light similar to that from a burning house, seen at a, 
distance, arose ; and the report by some means reached his 
ear that a great fire had broken out. 

Many rushed to the place to see the conflagration, and 
the dreamer himself had gotten part of the way, when he 
met others returning, who reported it was a false alarm. 
Such was the dream ; and time appears to have already 
given the interpretation thereof. 

Yet, it was probably only a mere coincidence ; and, at 
any rate is too indefinite. We must fall back on those 
which persons worthy of belief, relate as having been ful- 
filled in all their particulars. 

To what cause are we to attribute them ? Mere chance 
will not explain the mystery. Without being compelled to 
have recourse to the first and efficient cause of all things, 
which is God, we may possibly find a solution in the fact 
that there are in the spirit world beings, both bad and good, 
with discretionary powers analogous to those we possess 
with respect to one another. 

A man of strong mind and keen intellect can, for reasons 
known to himself, by lying and misrepresentation, draw a 
weaker soul into an enterprise that will certainly prove dis- 
astrous, and God will not at all times interfere to prevent 
the evil. 

So, also, the demon, who has a discretionary power, and 
from all we can learn, an intelligence far superior to ours, 
may present in a dream, things that he knows are about to 
happen, in order thereby to gain the confidence of the 
dreamer, and lead him astray on some future occasion. 

It would please Satan to find a man whose actions, 
while awake, were governed by visions had in slumber. 
Such a one would be a very effective weapon in his hands. 

But, says some one, Satan himself does not know the 
future, how then could he reveal it in a dream? Very true, 



i 



ALETHAURIOX . 



385 



he does not know it as God does. But with his knowledge 
of the laws of nature, of cause and effect, and of circum- 
stances that his intended victim knows nothing about, he is 
capable of making a shrewd guess — especially in regard to 
things not a long way off. 

Take the case of a kins:, about to en2fao;e in war with an- 
other. Satan knows the valor of his soldiers, the resources 
of the kingdom, the counsels of the enemy, where battles 
will take place, the strength of positions, the skill of gene- 
rals, and the efficiency of the arms used on both sides. 
Thus, by putting this and that together, he could, if he 
would, inform such a potentate what the result would be. 

Hence, the Church wisely warns all her children to place 
no trust in dreams. They are not the means appointed by 
God to discover to us either our duty or our destiny. 

We do not mean to deny that the good angels, who also 
have a discretionary power, may warn men of impending dan- 
ger, or give them a glimpse of things to happen. 

But any dream or presentiment that does not tend to 
make a man repent of his sins and love God the more, is to 
be despised or mistrusted. 

Our next will be concerning those besieged or possessed 
by Satan. 



CHAPTER XCI. 



CONCERNING THOSE THAT ARE POSSESSED OR BESIEGED BY 

THE DEVIL. 

Every time a man falls into mortal sin, Satan takes a 
mortgage on him, at full value. He is, for the time, condi- 
tional owner, and when death comes he forecloses and takes 
complete possession. 

Some there are, who avail themselves of the advantage of 
the bankrupt act, and leave Satan in the lurch. By virtue 



38G 



ALETHAURION . 



of an excellent homestead law, recognized in the court 
above, no adverse power can gain entire dominion over 
man's immortal part while he lives. 

And all such claims may, by taking the proper steps, be 
wiped out for good. But it is safer not to incur them, for, 
if not cancelled within a definite but to us unknown period, 
the mortgagee will appear — and he will raise ructions. 

We do not, however, at present, propose to discuss these 
sorts of claims. We leave them to the pulpit, and to that 
sacred tribunal to which they belong. 

Our business is with another and not so serious a matter. 
It is a case of tenantry, that demands our attention. That 
the body of each man is the abode of a spirit, which we call 
his soul, is generally admitted. 

But that, along with the soul, one or two devils may reside 
within a man's body, is denied by not a few. We Catholics 
maintain that such a thing is possible, and our belief is 
founded on Scripture and the teaching of the Church. 

Infidels do not admit demoniacal possession in the strict 
sense, and Protestants, for the most part side with them, in 
attempting to ridicule exorcisms to expel the spirit. Let us 
take a few texts of Scripture, and with them confound our 
adversaries. 

In Matthew 7 xii, we read that when the Jews accused 
Christ of casting out devils by the power of Beelzebub, he 
replied : 

"Every kingdom divided against itself shall be made desolate ; and 
every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. And if Satan 
cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom 
stand? * * * * When an unclean spirit is gone out of a man? 
he walketh through dry places, seeking rest and finding none. Then he 
sayeth : I will return into my house from whence I came out. And com- 
ing he findeth it empty, swept and garnished. Then he goeth and taketh 
with him seven other spirits, more wicked than himself, and they enter in 
and dwell there, and the last state of that man is made worse than the 
first." 

Now, let it be observed, that the Jews, both before and 
during our Saviour's time, believed in demoniacal possession ; 



ALETHAURION . 



387 



K they even had exorcisms, or prayers, said to have been 
written by King Solomon, for the purpose of expelling the 
evil spirit. Antiquities, viii, 2-5. 

If they were wrong, why did Christ confirm them in 
error? It will be seen from the quotation that He certainly 
did so. Not only does He admit that Satan may enter into 
and live in a man ; He goes further : He founds an argu- 
ment in proof of His Divine mission, on the fact that He 
had the power of casting him out. 

Far from condemning the popular belief, He strengthens 
it, by giving to His Apostles power over unclean spirits ; 
which He distinguishes from that of curing diseases. Luke 
ix, 1. 

Are we to presume that the Saviour would have given 
them ability to remedy an evil that had no existence ? As 
well might a physician give medicine to chickens to cure the 
tooth-ache. 

It is needless to say that the Apostles and Disciples exer- 
cised, under proper circumstances, the virtues received. 

" Lord," said they,. "the devils also are subject to us in 
thy name." Luke x, 17. Let us take an example. We 
read, Acts xvi, that one day as St. Paul and his compan- 
ion were passing through the streets of Phillipi, a girl, pos- 
sessed with a pythonical spirit followed them, crying out 
and saying : 6 < These men are the servants of the most 
high God, who show you the way to salvation." 

This was done for several days, and, Paul knowing it 
was not the girl, but the devil within her, that spoke, turned 
and said to the spirit : " I command thee, in the name of 
Jesus Christ, to go out of her." And he went, that same 
hour. 

It appears also that this damsel brought considerable gain 
to her owners, by fortune-telling, and these, seeing all fur- 
ther hope nipped in the bud, became enraged against Paul 
and Silas, and got them publicly whipped on the pretext 



388 



ALETHAURION. 



that they were disturbing the city, and teaching what no 
Roman gentleman ought to give ear to. 

Here, the circumstances of the case plainly show that the 
girl was possessed. For if it had been mere trickery upon 
her part, or upon that of her masters, there would have been 
no occasion for answer at Paul. 

He simply told her to shut her mouth. The motives that 
could have induced Sataj* to render testimony in favor of 
the truth we shall attempt to diagnose in a future number. 

Another celebrated case of demoniacal possession, is that 
found in Luke viii. This man, who used to tear off his gar- 
ments and break chains and fetters of iron, lived in tombs 
and solitary places. 

The Saviour, having met him, commanded the legion of 
devils, by which he was possessed, to go out of him. They 
obeyed, but were permitted to enter a drove of swine that 
were feeding at some distance. And scarcely had this been 
done, when every single hog dashed off toward a precipice, 
and, rushing headlong, perished in the sea. 

Infidels explain away all such cases by attributing them to 
epilepsy, catalepsy, hysteria, or some nervous complaint. 
But how several hundred hogs could have taken such a freak, 
and so suddenly, they do not make clear. 

The Fathers of the first four centuries also bear testimony 
to the fact that, by the exorcisms of the Church, devils were 
expelled from many. And those same impure spirits were 
forced to acknowledge their real character. 

The Fathers speak of facts known to the public, and chal- 
lenge the Pagans to disprove them. Indeed, most of 
those who had been possessed were not believers, and were 
converted to the faith on seeing the miracles that had been 
wrought upon themselves. 

Paulinus, in his life of St. Felix, of Nola, relates that 
he once witnesssed a man who was possessed, walk against 
the ceiling of a church, with his head down, and that this 



ALETHAURION . 



389 



same individual was afterwards cured at the tomb of St. 
Felix. 

Sulpitius Severus, Dialogue, iii, 6, says : "I saw one 
possessed, raised in the air, with his arms extended, on the 
approach of the relics of St. Martin." To these we may 
add some others. 

Fernal, physician to Henry II, and Ambrose Pare, a 
Protestant, mention a demoniac who spoke Greek and Latin, 
though he had never learned either. 

For other examples see Cud worth's Intellectual System 
-chap, v, 82. 

There seems to be no good reason for denying that those 
clairvoyants, mediums and fortune-tellers we have at the 
present day, are persons possessed by the devil. We don't 
mean to say that all who pretend to be mediums, and to tell 
fortunes, have direct dealings with him. Satan, like the 
proud gentleman that he is, chooses his company, and not a 
few of these mediums and fortune-tellers are so low and 
worthless, that even he gives them the cold shoulder. 

Epileptics and cataleptics may also, with some reason, be 
placed on the same list. The doctors know but little about 
these diseases, which they ascribe to disarrangement of the 
nervous system. But it is undoubtedly true that the com- 
plaints in question are often, if not always, brought about 
by cver-indulgence in vice. 

And it may be that the devil is, on that account, per- 
mitted to take up his abode with them — giving them fits when 
he pleases. Many of those demoniacs, mentioned in the 
gospel, had symptoms at the moment of attack, altogether 
similar to those of epileptics in our own day. 

Rigorously speaking, however, we ought not to presume 
any o,ne as possessed, unless he has one or more of these 
four marks. They are : 

First: Remaining suspended in the air for a consider- 
able time without support. 



390 



ALETHAURION. 



Second: Speaking in a language that has never been 
learned. 

Third: Revealing things actually taking place at a dis- 
tance. 

Fourth : Bringing to light hidden things, such as giving 
an entire stranger a history of his past life, etc. 

When a medium or fortune-teller does any one of the 
above things, it would be prudent to shun his company and 
cut his acquaintance. 

We finish this chapter with a few observations on obses- 
sion. Obsessed means besieged, and is a term applied to 
those whose bodies are not under the control of Satan, 
though he keeps close watch, remaining near them at all 
hours. The Curate of Ars, for modern, and Sara, the 
daughter of Raguel, for ancient times, Tobias iii, 8, are 
the best examples that now occur to the writer, of persons 
belonging to this class. 

In conclusion, the reader must not suppose that because a 
person is possessed, or besieged by the devil, that he is 
necessarily in the state of sin. It may be otherwise. The 
man may be even a saint. 

In our next we treat of animal magnetism. 



CHAPTER XCII. 



ANIMAL MAGNETISM. 

A drowning man, it is said, will catch at a straw. And 
we know that the victim of a chronic disease, if wealthy, 
will freely expend his money on physicians, until hope 
itself has fled. 

There appears to be an idea afloat in the minds of many, 
that for every ill that flesh and blood is heir to, God has 
provided a remedy which exists somewhere in the great con- 
servatory of nature. 



ALETHAUEION. 



391 



Ponce de Leon and others who figured on the stage of 
life about the time this continent was discovered, were im- 
pressed with the notion that there was here, in the new 
world, a fountain whose waters could bestow perennial youth, 
and ward off death. 

But though de Leon was unsuccessful, the search has not 
been abandoned ; a circumstance which has tended to ad- 
vance the science of medicine, and has given rise to no in- 
considerable amount of quackery. 

In this latter branch prominently rises the name of An- 
thony Mesmer, a physician who flourished at Vienna, 
towards the close of the last century. 

In his search for new methods of curing diseases, he 
imagined that he had at last discovered the 44 Fountain of 
Youth." It consisted in a very subtile fluid, emanating 
from the bodies of all animals. To this our quack gave the 
name of "animal magnetism." 

Once that its existence was proven to be a reality, it only 
remained to devise means to utilize it, and these were soon 
discovered. They consisted, principally, in certain touches, 
and motions of the hands, made by the magnetizer in the 
presence of the person to be magnetized. 

In this way the fluid passed from one to another — from 
the positive to the negative. But in some ca^-s the simple 
presence of the magnetizer was all that was required, and 
the express consent of the patient, at least for the first time, 
was a necessary condition. When all things work properly, 
two effects were and still are said to be produced : 

First, A state of somnambulism in which the patient, 
although deprived of his natural reason, yet sees, hears and 
answers questions. 

Second, A wonderful knowledge, not only of his own con- 
dition, and of the remedies suitable to his disease, but also 
of what is taking place at such distant points as the ques- 
tion may indicate. 

The writer willingly confesses never to have witnessed an? 



392 ALETHAURIOX. 

exhibition of the powers spoken of. Yet in view of what he 
has heard from persons worthy of belief, he does not feel at 
liberty to deny that the thing is possible ; nor even to call in 
doubt its actual occurrence. 

Granting, therefore, that others have witnessed the mani- 
festations spoken of, the question naturally arises, what are 
we to think of them? 

Do they come from God, or from nature, or from the 
demon? There are three opinions upon the subject. 

The first rejects animal magnetism, as the work of Satan, 
on the grounds that the strange effects produced by it can 
come neither from God nor from the power of nature. 

Not from God ; for, what man of sane mind could for a 
moment conceive Him as deviating from the ordinary course 
of His providence, at the mere nod of one of His own crea- 
tures? True, he did so when Moses struck the rock in 
Horeb ; when Joshua said: " Move not, O sun, towards 
Gabaon, nor thou, O moon, toward the valley of Ajalon ;" 
and when Peter cured the lame man at the gate of the 
temple. 

But then, we must confess there is some difference between 
them and our animal magnetizers. They were chosen 
instruments, men of the highest sanctity. Can the others 
claim as much for themselves? We think not. Or, if they 
do, their claims will scarcely be allowed. 

The effects produced by animal magnetism come not from 
nature ; for the will of the agent is required and also that of 
the patient, at least for the first time. Now, there is no well 
defined connection between a mere internal act of the will 
and external physical objects. 

Physical forces always act according to known laws, and 
independently of the human will. If one should take a horse- 
shoe magnet, and bring the poles within half an inch of a 
cambric needle, it would attract the needle whether the man 
who held it wished the effect or not. 

Moreover, the wonderful effects of animal magnetism 



ALETH AURIOX . 



393 



appear to transcend the powers of nature. Even those who 
have studied nature's laws most profoundly, cannot under- 
stand how an illiterate man, when magnetized, can, in an 
instant, gain a knowledge of so many sublime sciences, so 
as to be able, whilst deprived of the use of his natural 
reason and sense, to speak learned languages, see things 
many hundred miles away, and prescribe remedies for dis- 
eases which, under ordinary circumstances, he would not be 
capable of diagnosing. Such is the first opinion, and it 
seems reasonable. 

The second opinion, which is that held by many celebrated 
physicians, maintains that the effects of animal magnetism 
may proceed from the powers of nature. For, say they, it 
is possible that there may be in the bodies of some men a 
subtile fluid, like that of the magnet, which can be made to 
pass from theirs into other bodies, and by means of the 
physical organs, even act upon the minds of men who come 
in contact with them. These, moreover, add, in favor of 
their theory, that similar effects are witnessed in cases of 
natural somnambulism. 

Somnambulists see in the dark, hear, and perform feats 
whilst in that state, of which they would be incapable when 
awake. Yet somnambulism is not referred to any super- 
natural power, and why should animal magnetism be, when 
the effects in both cases are so much alike ? 

Moreover, say the doctors, the fact that the consent of the 
patient is required, is not an objection of any consequence ; 
for the will, in this case, is not necessary, in so far as it is a 
mere internal faculty, independent of the body, but it is 
needed only as a means by which to excite the phantasy, 
and move the subtile humors of the body, and thus exert 
a force upon man's moral condition. 

The third opinion, which appears to be the most reason- 
able, distinguishes between the various effects of animal 
magnetism. 



394 



ALETHAUEION. 



According to its patrons, when the effects produced de- 
pend entirely or principally on the will of the magnetizer ; 
or when the magnetized gives positive evidence of infused 
science, such as speaking languages he never knew before, 
seeing things many hundred miles away, etc., then demonia- 
cal intervention must be admitted. 

For such effects evidently go beyond the powers of na- 
ture, whose laws are pretty well known to us now after an 
experience of nearly six thousand years ; nor have such 
results ever been witnessed in natural somnambulism. 

Yet it is not repugnant to reason that one should admit 
some other phenomena of animal magnetism without being 
compelled to refer them to supernatural agencies. 

With these observations, it will not be difficult to form a 
prudent judgment, respecting the spiritualistic exhibitions 
given publicly and privately also, here in town, not many 
months ago. (Georgetown, Ky., 1879.) 

That there was a force of some kind or other, brought to 
bear upon the tables and other movables used, and that it 
was independent of, and different from, the natural muscu- 
lar power of the exhibitors, was I think abundantly shown. 

But that said force was directed by the will of the 
so-called mediums, or by any other intelligent cause, was not 
demonstrated. It is possible that if a person possessed of a 
great magnetic influence, should give himself heart and soul 
to the business, he would before long find some intelligent 
but unknown power working with him. 

The unknown power the writer believes to be nothing 
more nor less than the spirits of darkness. Those who 
attribute the movement of tables, etc., altogether to the 
agency of spirits, ask why the power, if a natural one, can- 
not be scientifically treated ? 

We answer that there are many other facts that certainly 
depend upon natural causes which yet surpass scientific 
analysis. 



ALETHAURION 



395 



CHAPTER XCIII. 



PAUL AXD THE ISLAND OF CYPKUS. 

After a somewhat lengthy digression we again return 
to study more of the acts of the great Apostle of the Gen- 
tiles. 

We parted with him in Cyprus, where he converted the 
proconsul, Sergius Paulus, and by the force of a miracle, 
confounded the magician Elymas. 

The conversion of the governor was hailed with such joy 
by the faithful that they changed the Apostle's name from 
the Jewish Saul to the Roman Paulus, or Paul ; and he 
appears to have accepted the new title. 

This was in conformity with a practice long prevalent at 
Rome. The victorious general often took, or had given him, 
the name of the province or people he had conquered. 

The Island of Cyprus, where this conversion took place, is 
situated in the extreme eastern part of the Mediterranean 
Sea, about thirty-five miles from the coast of Asia Minor, 
and seventy-five from that of Syria. It is one hundred and 
fifty miles long, by sixty, at its widest part. 

In the days of Paul it belonged to the Romans, but now 
the English rule it, and an Irishman and Catholic holds the 
position once honored by the first Roman Governor, who 
embraced the Catholic faith. 

Substitute London for Rome, and you have Sir Garxet 
Wolseley, the successor of Sergius Paulus, who received 
the faith from the Apostle of the Gentiles, and, in return, 
gave him a name that will be famous as long as the world 
lasts. 

After having gone through the entire island, and preached 
the glad tidings of redemption, Paul passed into Asia 
Minor. Asia Minor is that part of Asiatic Turkey lying 
between the Black and Mediterranean seas, and, in those 



396 



ALETHAURION. 



days, was thickly populated ; the cities, especially on the 
western coast, being centers of learning and refinement. 

It may be proper to give here, in general terms, the char- 
acter of its inhabitants, from a religious standpoint. The 
vast majority were pagans, worshipers of Jupiter, Juno, 
Mars, Yenus, Minerva, and the other gods and goddesses 
of heathenism. 

There were also in the cities and larger towns Jews, who 
worshiped the true God. 

These had left their native country for the purpose of 
trafficking with, or lending money to the Gentiles, and it is 
possible that a high per centage of them may have been, as 
now, in the clothing, or the rag-picking business. 

They appear to have made, from a religious point of view, 
little or no impression on the Pagans. For having been 
foreign in all their thoughts, words and deeds, they were 
looked upon with mistrust, or else despised by their neigh- 
bors. # 

To study them now, is to know them as they were then ; 
for a Jew is always a Jew. 

Some of their rabbies, out of a spirit of vain-glory, under- 
took journeys over the sea and land to make proselytes. 
But these, like the Indians converted by Protestant preachers, 
became children of hell two-fold more than they were before. 

Judaism was never intended to be the universal religion. 
And, unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who 
attempt it. 

The Apostles, who were all Jews, on going forth to preach 
the Gospel, most generally began their labors in each place 
among their Hebrew brethren. It was natural they should 
have done so ; for the Jews were already believers in one 
God, and expected that Messiah whom the Apostles preached. 

They, moreover, had synagogues in many of the towns ; 
and as the Apostles had a greater work than church building 
before them, they took advantage of those houses already 



ALETHAURION. 



397 



built, preached in them, and sought to convert their owners 
to the new belief. 

It was the spiritual rather than the material edifice that 
claimed and received the attention of those men whom Christ 
Himself taught. Inferior, but also useful workmen, they 
knew would come after, and build houses of brick stone and 
mortar. 

But we have no evidence going to show that an Apostle 
ever built a church, or superintended the building of one, or 
begged or lectured for money to build it. 

The putting up of suitable houses for worship is a business 
that rather belongs to the laity. And they take to it with a 
vim, and follow with eagerness, when piety, singleness of 
purpose and zeal for God's glory lead the way. 

But, when a Cheops undertakes a pyramid, to serve as a 
•tomb for his own carcass to rot in, he must not throw away 
the whip if he does not want the work to flag. 

Let us now accompany St. Paul from Cyprus to Asia 
Minor. 

u When Paul, and they who were with him, had sailed from Paphos, 
they came to Perge, in Pamphylia * * Passing through Perge 
they came to Antioch, in Pisidia, and entering into the synagogue on the 
Sabbath day, they sat down. And after the reading of the law and the 
prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent to them, saying : Ye men 
and brethren, if you have any word of exhortation to make to the people, 
speak. Then Paul, rising up, and with his hand bespeaking silence, 
said, Ye men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give ear, etc." Acts xiii. 

We have here, a description of the way in which the public 
worship was conducted in one of those Jewish synagogues, 
in the days of the Apostles. The rabbi or lector, first read 
the law and the prophets, then looking down over the 
assembly, which was, in all probability, not large, and seeing 
some strangers present, he and the rulers of the synagogue 
exchange a word or two, and come to the conclusion that it 
would be well to invite them to address the assembly. 

This was what Paul expected and desired, so he stood up 



398 



ALETHAUEION . 



and preached that Jesus was the Christ and Messiah expected 
for generations by the Jews. 

As there were no short-hand writers in those days, to take 
down the words as they came from the lips of the Apostle, 
we cannot have that thorough knowledge of his style of 
preaching, which curiosity might desire. 

But, from the synopsis given in Acts xiii, we may reason- 
ably conclude that his sermons were not of the flowery and 
rhapsodical order, but rather on the argumentative and doc- 
trinal plan. This was as might have been expected. 

St. Paul knew, and every sensible man does, that scatter- 
ing flowers of rhetoric from the pulpit is a practice that 
works but little good, and, if carried beyond a certain limit, 
may do harm. Lacordaire is said to have made no con- 
verts. Christianity rejects whatever is false, flimsy, and for 
show, in its ministers. 

If the object be to draw attention to one's self, the 
preacher may indulge in high flights, and be dramatic. 

But if Christ is to be the principal figure, his minister 
cannot act the dancing master nor the charletan, nor the 
pulpit thumper. 

Whatever may have been Paul's style of oratory, it is cer- 
tain he made an impression. He also converted some, and 
was invited to preach again on the coming Sabbath. 

That day having arrived, almost the whole city went to 
hear him. But the rulers of the'synagogue, seeing the crowd 
and knowing, from the tenor of Paul's remarks on the pre- 
vious Sabbath, that his success would lessen their own im- 
portance, began to contradict and interrupt him. 

When Paul and Barnabas saw it was through envy they 
acted, they told the Jews that they would no longer waste 
words upon them, but that, for the time to come, they would 
turn to the Gentiles. 

Many of the latter believed, and the good cause was mak- 
ing progress, until the chief men of the synagogue bethought 
themselves of a plan to get rid of our two Apostles. 



ALETHAURIOX. 



399 



There were at the time in Antioch, some very respectably 
connected old women, who made great pretentions to religion, 
though, in truth, they had but little of it, and were as ready 
at gossip as at their prayers. By skillful manipulation, 
these were put on the war-path, who in turn influenced their 
husbands, and the consequence was that, after much excite- 
ment, Paul and Barnabas were chased out of the town and 
country in hot haste. 

From Antioch, they proceeded to Iconium. But, before 
accompanying them thither, we will first make an observa- 
tion, suggested by the matter under consideration. 

Here in the United States, there is a field that bears some 
analogy to those regions visited by the Apostles. True it is, 
that in all the large cities, the faith is firmly planted — 
thanks to European Catholics, and to their immediate 
descendants. But travel through the rural districts, espe- 
cially those parts that are remote from railroads, and what 
will you find ? 

The Catholic Church is not known well enough to even 
blaspheme it properly. The few Catholics that one finds at 
rare intervals, like black-jacks in winter, are fruitless, and 
almost leafless, from long neglect ; while the heretics wallow 
in their errors in undisturbed repose. 

Not many weeks ago the writer was called to officiate at a 
place where some Catholic people lived, far away from any 
church. The man who came to give information that the 
services of a priest were required, lowering his voice at a 
certain point in the conversation, he said : " And, Father, 
have you any objection to Protestants being present and 
hearing you preach? " We replied, " None whatever ; the 
more the better." 

Omitting details, let it suffice to say that when the day 
came there was no scarcity of Protestants, who, along with 
conducting themselves in a becoming manner during the 
services, ate freely of the homeric repast prepared on the 
occasion, and strongly pressed the writer to come back on 



400 



ALETHAURION . 



some Sunday, and give further explanations of Catholic 
doctrine. 

" We'll give you our meeting house to preach in," said 
one noble son of the Dark and Bloody Ground. " And I'll 
notify all the neighbors round about, if you let me know 
the time } r ou come. You are the first Catholic priest that 
has ever been in this region, and they are all as anxious to 
see and hear for themselves as I am." 

No doubt curiosity entered largely into the good will 
shown on the occasion. But taking it altogether, no one 
could have wished for a better spirit to begin with. Now, 
why is it such people are neglected, left uninstructed, unen- 
lightened in the true faith ? 

The fault lies in the present system ; and its remedy may 
be found by adverting to first principles. The Apostles 
ordained in each of those towns where they preached, pres- 
byters or elders, who should have care and direction over 
those whom they had converted. They themselves never 
settled down permanently in any one place, but always kept 
up the work of evangelizing. 

We are not ignorant of the fact, however, that Peter chose 
Rome, and James Jerusalem, as their particular Sees. But 
it does not thence follow that they never stirred out of 
those cities. 

We have, at the present day, in this country, elders 
enough, and to spare. Some too old for anything except to 
scheme for good places and fat livings. But apostles have 
never been, and are not now, numerous enough in the land. 

As a remedy, and as a means of bringing a knowledge of 
the true faith to thousands, who are to-day floundering in 
the mire of heresy, the writer would suggest the propriety 
of having in each diocese one suitable person set apart for 
the work of an evangelist. 

By preaching Catholic doctrine in those places that are 
now totally neglected, because altogether Protestant, an in- 
calculable amount of good might be done. The ordinary 



ALETHAUEIOX. 



401 



" mission " is too unwieldy. It may be compared to the 
siege-gun, fit only for the fortress. And, for a fact, mis- 
sions are principally confined to the larger cities, and are 
attended by only a few outsiders, comparatively speaking. 

With the system spoken of, an entire diocese might be 
evangelized within a period of a dozen years, and many 
brought into the fold who, as things are now going, will 
live in heresy, and die in it. 

Some of the religious orders were established for this very 
purpose, by their illustrious and sainted founders — Sed, quo- 
modo obscuratum est durum, mutatus est ejus color optimus! 
As to the Evangelist, he should be a man of intellect, piety 
and zeal ; and, with these qualifications he would achieve a 
necessary, a great and a glorious work. 

In our next we will follow the Apostle to his next field of 
labor. 



CHAPTER XCIY. 



ST. PAUL PREACHES AT ICOXIUM: AND DERBE. 

Paul and Baexabas, having taken apostolic leave of the 
reprobate Jews and Gentiles of Antioch, by shaking the dust 
of their feet off against them, arrived by forced marches at 
Iconium, a place one hundred and fifteen miles distant, as 
the crow flies, from Antioch. 

Their experience here differed in no wise from what had 
befallen them in the place from which they had fled. On 
hearing the word, many of the Jews and Gentiles embraced 
the faith. 

But there were unbelievers enough left to make it too 
warm for them to remain long. So to escape being stoned 
they had to fly from there to Lystra, a town some twenty 
miles away. 

The brethren was sorry because of the;r departure, but 



402 



ALETHAURIOX. 



made no attempt to retain them by physical force. Nor 
would Paul have permitted such a thing. Christianity, the 
greatest moral force that has ever been known in the world, 
was itself planted, and is propagated by means entirely 
moral. 

" If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly 
strive."' John xviii, 36. 

" Put up again thy sword into its place," said the Saviour, " for all 
that take the sword shall perish by the sword." Matt, xxvi, 52. 

Possibly our .missionaries in Pagan lands may be as much 
hampered as benefitted, by the protection they receive from 
so-called Catholic governments. 

It is hard for the heathen Chinese to see anything else but 
the representative of the Divinity in a man, whose moral 
teaching is sandwiched with allusions to a powerful foreign 
government. 

One thing is very certain : The Apostles had no such pro- 
tection to fall back on. And when Paul appealed to Cesar, 
it was not to a foreign power he had recourse, but to an 
emperor whose authority was acknowledged by the people 
amongst whom he lived. 

The writer, however, does not wish to be understood as 
speaking confidently on this subject ; for it needs to be ap- 
j)roached with caution. 

Temporal government are for temporal ends, and the ex- 
perience of ages shows them up as treacherous and danger- 
ous allies of the Church. 

The Church can get along without their aid, as she did 
for the first three centuries, and as she does at present in 
these United States. But in some places those who sit in 
council with Cesar are not satisfied with giving their mas- 
ter what belongs to him, they must also place at his disposal 
what clearly belongs to God. Hence the trouble and the 
conflict. 

Our Apostles having arrived at Lystra, a place some 
twenty miles distant from Iconium, proceeded at once to 



ALETHAURION. 



403 



the work of evangelizing. Nor did they confine their labors 
to the town alone, but went through the country round 
about, scattering the good seed wherever they went. 

A miracle wrought by St. Paul, on the person of a man 
who had been a cripple from his mother's womb, also tended 
to arouse the greatest enthusiasm in their behalf. 

To such an extent was this the case, that the people no 
longer regarded them as men, but thought the immortal 
gods had come down to pay them a visit. They supposed 
Barnabas was Jupiter, most probably on account of his 
majestic bearing, while to Paul, who was all life, they gave 
the name of Mercury. 

According to the mythologies of those Pagan people, 
almost every art or branch of business was under the pro- 
tection of some deity, and Mercury, the son of Jupiter, 
being the patron of eloquence and messenger of the gods, 
was readily thought of when the people had heard Paul and 
saw the miracle he performed. 

While the excitement, on account of the cripple, was 
going on, the priest of Jupiter, who lived in town, did not 
forget what he supposed to be his duty. He went off, and 
with his attendants, got ready some of the sacred oxen, in 
order to offer a great sacrifice. 

But the act of idolatry was prevented by the Apostles, 
who informed the priest and the people that they were mor- 
tals like themselves ; yet commissioned from on high, to 
teach them doctrines that could save their souls. 

Yet, their success was here also destined 10 be of short 
duration. Some Jews from Antioch and Iconium followed 
St. Paul to Lystra, where they did not fail to have recourse 
to their old tricks — misrepresentation and calumny. 

Hence, the multitude, that so short a time before were on 
the point of offering them divine honors, now pelted our 
Apostles with stones. St. Paul, at whom it seems, most 
of the missiles were aimed, was dragged outside of one of 
the city gates, on the supposition that he was already dead. 



404 



ALETHAURION. 



But as the disciples stood around he came to life again, 
and entered the city. By this time the authorities had 
quelled the riot, and he was no longer molested. But on 
the next day he set out for Derbe. 

It is astonishing to contemplate with what bitterness the 
Jews persecuted St. Paul upon all occasions. He must 
have been, indeed, a wonderful man, and well deserving of 
the admiration in which he has been held by the good and 
wise of all ages since his day. 

The hatred of the wicked is a surer proof of merit than 
the praises of a saint. A good man is often deceived by 
outward appearances, but a rogue at heart never mistakes a 
truly honest man for a brother. No ; far sooner will a fat 
quail mistake a sparrow-hawk for its friend. 

They who opposed the gospel hated Paul with an intense 
and diabolical rage, because they felt his power, and de- 
spaired of ever being able to circumvent him by trickery, or 
bluff him off from what he had undertaken. 

They understood him, and he was not ignorant of what 
depraved human nature is capable, under the specious plea 
of zeal for the law. 

Hence, though bold he had caution, and though he loved 
men with true Christian charity, he did not forget the 
Saviour's injunction, to beware of them. 

~No doubt the sufferings that our ancestors in the faith, in 
early times, had to endure at the hands of both the Jews and 
Pagans, were to them highly mysterious. 

Indeed it was not easy for the rank and file, maybe not 
for the Apostles themselves, to understand why God should 
have permitted the wicked to afflict them as they did. 

But we who live at this day, can see the reason. Those 
men who saw and were taught by the Saviour, were, in the 
designs of God, destined to be examples for all time. 

Their lives and their deaths are now, to us, amongst 
the strongest motives of credibility for believing that 



ALETHAUKION. 



405 



Christ was God, and that the Catholic Church is a divine 
institution. 

They all sealed, with their blood, the truths they had 
taught mankind. 

After having raised quite a tempest in Asia Minor, Paul 
and Barnabas returned to Antioch, in Syria. They found, 
on arrival, that some false teachers had been at work during 
their absence, and that there was danger of a schism in the 
Church. 

To settle matters a council was held at Jerusalem, and 
tranquility, by its means, again restored. 
In our next we will speak of this. 



CHAPTER XCV. 



THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 

After Paul and Barnabas had returned from Asia Minor 
to Antioch, in Syria, they found the brethren greatly exer- 
cised over a question that had been introduced during their 
absence. 

Some half -converted Pharisees, enamored of everything 
Jewish, came down from Judea, and with characteristic 
effrontry, began at once to hint around, and even teach pub- 
licly that the gospel had only been half preached in Antioch, 
and that along with believing in Christ they must also be 
circumcised, and observe the law of Moses. 

The greater part of those who had been converted , and 
received into the Church, after having listened to the preach- 
ing of Paul and Barnabas for a year or more, of course 
paid no attention to those emissaries of discord. But there 
were at Antioch, as there are in every place, some weak 
people, who could be badgered into almost anything. It 
was amongst these that those malcontents were most suc- 
cessful. 



406 



ALETHAURION. 



Paul and Barnabas, though inspired men and workers of 
miracles, had no small contest with them. Such has ever 
been the obstinaney of those possessed with the spirit of 
heresy. They will not yield to inspiration itself. 

It was finally agreed, for the sake of peace, to refer the 
matter in dispute to Peter, and to the other apostles and 
priests in Jerusalem. 

Both parties chose delegates to represent their views be- 
fore the council ; and these after having arrived at Jerusa- 
lem, the Apostles and ancients came together to consider the 
matter. Acts, xv, 6. 

Paul and Barnabas pleaded their cause, we may pre- 
sume with their usual strength and eloquence, whilst the 
heretics were bitter and defiant. This we learn from the 
character of the speech made by Peter on the occasion. 

For after there had been much disputing, and no prospect 
that those in error would yield, he, the first Pope and head 
of the Church, at last arose. 

He told of how, by divine relation, Corxelius, the cen- 
turion, had entered the Church without circumcision, and of 
how God made no distinction between Gentile and Jew. 
Then turning toward those who stood up for the observance 
of the Mosaic law, and with meaning in his eye, he said : 

" Xow, therefore, why tempt you God, to put a yoke upon the necks 
of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" 
(Acts xv, 10.) 

When Peter had spoken there was no more opposition 
in that assembly. Those who were so loud at Antioch, 
and even at Jerusalem, before the lion had roared, were now 
as silent as clams. The question was finished, Peter had 
spoken, " and the whole multitude held their peace." 
Acts xv, 12. 

In confirmation of what the Pope had' said, Paul and 
Barxabas next began to relate their own experience ; and 
James the apostle, bishop of Jerusalem, put the finishing 
touch, by quoting the prophets in defence of Peter's de- 
cision. 



ALETHAU RIOX . 



407 



How wonderful indeed, are the inspired writings, so sim- 
ple, and yet so sublime, so brief and yet so pregnant with 
important facts and data. 

That council at Jerusalem, whose history is given in so 
few words in Acts xv, has been the model and pattern ever 
since. 

Men of heretical spirit begin to introduce new doctrines ; 
or to call in doubt those already believed in the Church ; 
they are at once met and opposed by the faithful, discussion 
waxes warm, and the matter becomes of sufficient import- 
ance to call the attention of the local Church authorities. 

The latter render judgment on the merits of the case, but 
the heretics w T ill not submit. Finally the case goes to the 
Pope, and from his decision there is no appeal to a higher 
court on earth — and we may add, there is none to the court 
above ; for the voice of the Pope, speaking ex Cathedra, is 
the echo of Christ's. 

Whatever he binds on earth is bound also in heaven. He 
is the rock on which the Church is built. Matt. xvi. He 
feeds the lambs and the sheep of the flock. John xxi He 
is commissioned to confirm his brethren. Luke xxii. 

Let the reader also observe, that when the dissension 
arose, in regard to the question of circumcision at Antioch, 
it was not to the scriptures an appeal' was made. No, 
the question was referred to a living teaching authority — 
to a supreme judge in things appertaining to faith and 
morals. 

Let our Methodist, Baptist, Campbellite, Presbyterian, 
Episcopal and Mormon friends take a note of this. 

They have discussions among themselves on religious 
points, about which they cannot agree. Why do they not 
imitate those of Antioch and appeal to Peter? He would 
very soon decide these questions for them, and he has never 
failed to do so when asked. 

But no. They prefer to wrangle, and have the rabble for 
a judge. All heresy stands self-condemned, because it has 



408 



ATJETHAURION. 



no commission to decide who is right and who is wrong in a 
controversy. 

Not long ago, in a certain town in this State, there was a 
vacancy in the pulpit of one of the sectarian meetinghouses. 
According to custom, the members took a minister on trial 
before engaging him for a year. 

© D © J 

He preached for them some few times, but they found 
fault with his doctrine, which smelt strongly of heresy — it 
was the old story of the pot and the kettle. At any rate, he 
was not employed. 

The preacher next went through another ordeal, and, we 
presume, preached the same doctrines in a meeting house 
some ten or a dozen miles away. Here he was received with 
opened arms, and dubbed orthodox, by men and women of 
the same denomination with those who had already passed 
judgment and pronounced him unsound. 

It is a wonder that such a patent inconsistency does not at 
once open the eyes of sectarians, and cause them to abandon 
such ridiculous organizations, and enter at once that Church 
which professes infallibility, and acts as only a divinely com- 
missioned infallible society can act. 

The man who opposed Paul and Barxabas at Antioch, 
and raised such a commotion in the Church, was, accord- 
ing to some of the ancient Fathers, especially St. Epiphan- 
ius, no other than that oily and mendacious heresiarch, Cer- 
ixthus, of whom we have already spoken in Chapter 
XXVII. 

The condemnation pronounced against his doctrines by the 
Council of Jerusalem, does not appear to have cured him of 
bis obstinancy, for it has been handed down that he went 
from bad to worse, and, finally met a sudden death in his 
impenitence. 

In our next, beginning with the first general council of 
Isice, we will give a synopsis of what was done in it and in 
others held in the East. 



ALETHAURION. 



409 



CHAPTER XCVI. 



bird's eye view of the general councils. 

In the last chapter we spoke of the council of Jerusalem 
which, properly speaking, was not a general one. In the 
present, we treat of those synods that by universal con- 
sent, have received the name of Ecumenical, or General 
Councils. 

They are eighteen in number, according to the opinion of 
the best and most reliable theologians ; though some French 
writers add one more to the list. 

The first was held at Nice, a town of Bithynia, in Asia 
Minor, A. D. 325 ; during the reign of Constantine, the 
first Catholic Emperor of Eome ; Sylvester being Pope. 

Three hundred and eighteen bishops from various parts 
of the empire, were present, and participated in its deliber- 
ations. 

Constantine took no hand in the discussions, and, of his 
own free choice, occupied a seat apart from, and inferior to 
those destined for the bishops ; for he did not come there to 
dictate, but to learn and be guided by their decisions. 

In this council were condemned the errors of Arius, a 
priest of Alexandria, in Egypt, who denied the divinity of 
Jesus Christ. The bishops, guided by the Holy Ghost, 
having declared Christ consubstantial, that is of the same 
substance with God the Father, pronounced sentence against 
the heresiarchs. 

Seventeen, however, of their number, admirers of Arius 
and his doctrines, refused to subscribe to his condemnation, 
and to the decisions of the council, but, after a few days, 
twelve relented, and finally only two remained obstinate, who 
were exiled along with their master. 

The Fathers of this council, also defined the time for cel- 
ebrating the feast commemorative of the resurrection of our 



410 



ALETHAURION. 



Lord, and enacted other laws in regard to matters of disci- 
pline. 

Hosius, the bishop of Cordova, in Spain, along with Vito 
and Vincent, two Roman priests, sent as legates by the 
Pope, presided. 

The second general council was held at Constantinople, 
A. D. 381, during the reign of the Emperor Theodosius. 
About five hundred Oriental bishops took part in it. 

These condemned anew the errors of Arius, and those of 
Apollinaeius, who taught doctrines at variance with the 
mystery of the Incarnation. But their principle work was 
the condemnation of Macedoxius, a wicked usurping bishop 
of Constantinople, who denied the divinity of the Holy 
Ghost. 

The year following, Pope Damasus approved the acts of 
this council, since which, it has been regarded as ecumenical. 
TTe do not know with certainty who presided ; but the prob- 
abilities are mostly in favor of Timothy, patriarch of Alex- 
andria. 

The third general council was held at Ephesus, a city on 
the western coast of Asia Minor, A. D. 431. Cyril of 
Alexandria, presided, having been authorized to do so by 
Pope Celestixe. 

Two hundred and sixty-four bishops were present, who y 
after having duly considered the question, brought sentence 
of condemnation against Nestorius, bishop of Constanti- 
nople, for teaching, that in Christ there were two persons, 
the divine and the human ; and that the Blessed Virgin 
had no right to the title of Mother of God ; she, accord- 
ing to Kestorius, having given birth to the human person 
only. 

For this impiety he was deposed and branded, to the great 
joy and satisfaction of all the faithful. The sentence of 
Pope Zozimus against Pelagius and his followers, was also 
confirmed by the fathers of this synod. 



ALETHAURION. 



411 



Not long after these events, another possessed of an heret- 
ical spirit, came to the surface. His name was Eutyches, 
a monk of Constantinople. 

Out of hatred to the errors of Nestorius, he fell himself 
into heresy, maintaining that in Christ there was only one 
nature, viz : The divine. That the body of our Saviour 
also came from heaven, and simply passed through the Virgin 
as through a canal. 

To set the seal of reprobation on such doctrines, the fourth 
general council was convened at Chalcedon, A. D. 451. 

Between live and six hundred bishops, presided over by 
Paschasinus, Lucentius and Boxifacius, papal legates, 
were there on the occasion. These, after having approved 
of the acts of the Council of Ephesus, defined that in Christ 
there were two natures, the divine and the human. 

The fifth general council was held at Constantinople, A.D. 
535, during the pontificate of Pope Vigilius, who, 
though he neither personally nor by legates, presided at it, 
yet afterward approved its acts. 

There were present about one hundred and sixty-five bish- 
ops ; and their principal work consisted in the condemna- 
tion of what were called the Three Chapters : viz., the writ- 
ings of Theodore of Mopsuest ; of Theodoret, bishop of 
Cyr ; and a letter which Iahs, bishop of Edessa had written 
to a Persian named Maris. 

These three Chapters, being unsound, were causing as 
much disturbance tnen as the question of the " three year 
olds," and the 44 four year olds " once did in Tipperary. 
But the fathers of council knocked the three into one pulpy 
mass and ended the strife. 

The sixth general council was held at Constantinople, 
A.D. 680. There were present about one hundred and sixty 
bishops, besides the legates of Pope Agathon. 

These, in council, sat at the left of the Emperor, Con- 
stantine Pogonatus, or the bearded, because in the East, 
that is the position of honor ; whereas Macarius, bishop of 



412 



ALETHAURIOX. 



Antioch, and George, bishop of Constantinople, sat at his 
right. 

In this council the Monothelites, a branch of the Euty- 
chian heresy, received a fitting rebuke. Their error, which 
consisted in maintaining that Christ had only one will — the 
divine — was condemned; and the true Catholic doctrine, 
that the Saviour had two wills, the divine and human, form- 
ally declared. 

The seventh general council was held A. D. 787, at Nice, 
in Bithynia. Three hundred and seventy-seven bishops, 
with Peter, the archpriest of St. Peter's, and Peter, abbot 
of St. Saba, legates of Pope Adrian I, were present. 

In this council the errors of the Iconoclasts, or image 
breakers, were condemned. From the beginning all true 
believers honored the pictures and images of our Lord, His 
blessed mother and the saints. 

But about the beginning of the seventh century, there 
came a sect into existence, whose religion meant war upon 
all such. The members were called Iconoclasts, and the 
sect flourished for a time, under the patronage of the Em- 
perors Leo the Isaurian, and Coxstaxtixe Coproxymus. 

The latter, whose name would not sound well if translated, 
brought together, A. D. 726, in Constantinople, upwards of 
three hundred bishops ; who, either through innate villainy, 
or through fear of the emperor absolutely condemned the 
worship of images. 

It was to remedy the evils caused by such pusillanimity on 
the one hand, and abuse of power on the other, that the 
seventh general council was convoked. 

The fathers condemned what had been done by Coproxy- 
mus and his batch of cowardly hirelings in the former 
synod. 

Then they made a declaration of the true Catholic and 
apostolic doctrine, viz : That one may, and ought to give 
honor to the images of Christ and his saints ; but not the 
honor and worship that belongs to God. 



ALETHAURION. 



413 



The eighth general council was held, A. D. 869, at Con- 
stantinople, and one hundred and two bishops took part 
therein. Donatus, Stephen and Marintjs, legates of Pope 
Adrian II, presided. Photius, the author of the Greek 
schism, and as polished and consummate a scoundrel as ever 
spoke that language, here got his deserts. 

Having, by order of the emperor, come before the council 
he refused to plead his cause, comparing himself to our 
Saviour in the house of Pilate. But he did not escape con- 
demnation. This was the last of the general councils held 
in the East. 

In our next we will give a synopsis of those of the West. 



CHAPTER XCVII. 



bird's eye view of the general councils. 

Having spoken of the eight general councils held in the 
East, we now come to those of the West. 

The ninth was held A. D. 1123, at Rome, in the Church 
of St. John Lateran, during the pontificate of Calixtus I. 
More than three hundred bishops were present, and the Pope 
in person presided. 

The question of investitures was here discussed and de- 
cided. It meant the right, or privilege, claimed by some 
feudal lords, in the middle ages, of appointing persons to 
vacant bishoprics or abbacies, and was called an investiture, 
because the king or prince gave the bishop a crozier and 
ring, in token of the authority to him transferred. 

The custom had its origin in the munificence of Catholic 
princes towards the Church, and in the beginning was at- 
tended with no evil consequences. But there was in it a 
germ of mischief that could not fail to produce bitter fruit 
in due season. 



414 



ALETHAURION. 



The prince had not only the temporal, but also the spirit- 
ual power in his hands ; for bishops owed their elevation to 
him, and hence, when he was good they were good, but 
when he was bad, they were horrid. 

Pope Gregory VII, after having studied the question 
long and prayerfully, came to the conclusion, as well he 
might, that this privilege of investiture was at the bottom of 
much of the evil that existed in the Church at his day. 

So he determined to stop it, which caused great coolness 
to spring up between him and Henry IV, the Bismarck of 
his time. 

The story is too long to tell here in full ; let it suffice to 
say that the cause of right and truth at last prevailed, so 
that investitures are now things of the past. But the sha- 
dow of the skeleton still remains, under the title of royal 
exequaturs. 

In this council were also enacted some laws against Simony, 
and ambitious monks, who had usurped the jurisdiction and 
functions of ecclesiastics, were again lassoed, and taken back 
to their stalls. 

The tenth general council was held also at Eome, and in 
the Lateran Basilica A. D. 1139, during the pontificate of 
Innocent II. 

There were present nearly one thousand bishops, presided 
over by the Pope in person. 

It was convoked for three principal ends : 

First, To extinguish the schism of the anti-pope Anacle- 
tus II. (Peter Leonis.) 

Second, To condemn the heresies of Peter de Bruis and 
Arnold of Brescia. 

Third, To invigorate Church discipline, which had become 
flabby. 

Peter Leonis lived as anti-pope twelve years, and died 
impenitent. Arnold, Abbot of Bonavallis, a cotemporary 
writer in his life of St. Bernard, book ii, chap, i, gives a 
good description of the means taken by him to gain, enlarge 



ALETHAUKION. 



415 



and retain his power — all of which were unjust and tyranni- 
cal. Happily the council extinguished the schism and re- 
stored peace to the Church. 

After having settled the question of the tiara, the Fathers 
next turned attention to the errors of Peter de Bruis and 
Arnold of Brescia, which they also condemned. 

Peter de Bruis was born in Dauphiny, France, and be- 
gan to preach his errors about the year 1110. According 
to Peter the Venerable, Abbot of Cluny, who lived at that 
day, they were five in number : 

First, That there is no necessity for baptizing infants be- 
fore the age of reason ; because, according to Bruis, it is the 
. actual faith of the subject that saves him through baptism. 

Second, That churches ought not to be built ; on the con- 
trary, they should be destroyed ; and that prayers are just 
as s;ood in a bar-room. 

Third, That crosses should be burned, because all Chris- 
tians should have a horror of that on which Christ died. 

Fourth, That Christ is not really and truly present in the 
Eucharist. 

Fifth, That sacrifices, prayers and alms for the dead avail 
nothing. 

Peter de Bruis departed A. D. 1130, having been con- 
demned to be burned for his many crimes, seditions and 
blasphemies. 

Arnold of Brescia taught much the same errors as those 
of Peter de Bruis, and was something of a revolutionist 
beside. He went about preaching that all ecclesiastics who 
held property in their own names, or as a community, would 
be damned. 

Finally he appeared in Rome and tried to get the people 
to rebel against the temporal power of the Pope, for which 
he was arrested, tried and condemned, A. D. 1115. 

His errors, along with those of Peter de Bruis, were 
anathematized in the council of which we are speaking. 

The eleventh general council was held A. D. 1179, also in 



416 



ALETHAURION. 



the Lateran Basilica. Pope Alexander III, and about 
three hundred bishops, assembled within its walls on that 
occasion. 

It was convoked in order to condemn in a solemn manner, 
the schism of the anti-Pope Victor IV, who, on the strength 
of three* votes given in conclave, presumed to call himself 
the successor of Peter, in opposition to Alexander III, 
lawfully elected by twenty-three Cardinals. 

The Fathers of this council, along with enacting some laws 
in regard to discipline, condemned the errors of Peter 
Waldo, and his followers, the Waldenses. 

Waldo's errors, condemned by the council, were briefly 
as follows : 

First, That evangelical poverty is absolutely necessary for 
salvation. 

Second i That all priests who possessed any of the goods 
of this world lost, by that fact alone, the power to validly 
administer the Sacraments. 

Third, That a layman who practiced evangelical poverty, 
had a better right to preach the Gospel and to administer 
the Sacraments, than a priest who had temporal goods. 

Fourth, That it is wrong to take an oath, even in court. 

Fifth, That capital punishment ought not to be inflicted 
for crime. 

Sixth, That no one should seek reparation for an injury. 
Seventh, That it is wrong to go to war for any reason 
whatever. 

Such were their errors in the beginning. But Reiner 
Sacho, the historian of the sect, tells us that in the course of 
time they added others to the catalogue, viz : 

They rejected the doctrine of purgatory ; the invocation 
of saints ; the ceremonies of the Church ; the baptism of 
infants; the sacraments of confirmation; extreme unction 
and matrimony. Along with these errors they refused to 
honor the cross, or the pictures and images of our Lord and 
the saints. 



ALETHAURION. 



417 



The Waldenses admitted the doctrine of transubstantiation, 
but maintained that the change of substance took place, not 
in the hands of a sinful consecrator, but in the mouth of the 
worthy receiver. 

These errors were all anathematized in the council afore- 
said. The Baptists of the present day claim the Waldenses. 
as their religious ancestors. But, as the reader may have 
already surmised, as well might a man claim for his bull-dog 
lineal descent from a crocodile, on the ground that the latter 
has four legs, two eyes and a tail, and the bull-pup idem. 

The Baptists and Campbellites of the present day are dis- 
tinct sects, even though both hold nearly the same views. 
How much more the Baptists and Waldenses. 

The twelfth general council was held in the same Lateran 
Basilica, A. D. 1215. 

Pope Innocent III presided. There were present four 
hundred and twelve bishops, two patriarchs, seventy-seven 
primates, upwards of eight hundred abbots and priors, and 
of absent prelates, procurators without number. 

The diploma of convocation states that it was convened 
for the repossession of the Holy Land, for the condemnation 
of heresies, and for the reformation of the Universal 
Church. 

In this council the errors, some of them new 'ones, of the 
Waldenses were again condemned; and the Albigenses, 
another pestiferous and immoral sect of that day, got a 
bearing from headquarters. 

According to Alanus de Citeau and Peter de Vaux- 
cerxay, cotemporary writers, the Albigenses held the fol- 
lowing errors : 

First, They maintained that there are two Gods, the one 
essentially good, the other essentially wicked. 

Second, That there were two Christs, the one wicked, 
who appeared on earth with an unreal body and died, and 
arose again only in appearance; the other good, but never 
seen in this world. 



418 



ALETHAUEION. 



Third, They denied the resurrection of the body, and 
held that our souls are demons, united with our bodies in 
punishment of crime. They in consequence denied the 
existence of purgatory and of hell. 

Fourth, They rejected all the Sacraments; held the Holy 
Eucharist in horror, and refused to confess their sins to the 
ministers authorized by the Church. 

Fifth, They dishonored and destroyed, when they could, 
the images of Christ and the saints. 

Sixth, They held marriage in abomination, declaring 
the propagation of the human species to be eminently 
sinful . 

They were divided into two orders — the Perfect and the 
Believers. The former were consummate knaves, who 
made much outward show of piety; the latter lived like the 
rest of men, only a great deal worse than the majority, and 
believed they could be freed from all their wickedness by 
the imposition of the hands of the perfect. 

Against these errors the Fathers of the council pro- 
claimed anew, in a solemn manner, the doctrine of the real 
presence, and made a law obliging all the faithful to go to 
confession and communion at least once a year. This law is 
found in the celebrated 21st canon, beginning with the words 
* '07)11118 utriusque sexus." 

It is worthy of remark that the word transubstantiation is 
found for the first time in the acts of this council, though, 
of course, the doctrine it expresses is as old as the Apostles. 
Those who get their learning from almanacs, also point to 
this council as the one which first introduced confession. 

In our next we will glance at the six remaining general 
councils . 



ALETHAURION . 



419 



CHAPTER XCVIII. 



bird's eye view of the general councils. 

The thirteenth general council was held at Lyons, A. D. 
1245, and was presided over by Pope Innocent IV. 

Besides the cardinals, there were . present three patriarchs, 
about one hundred and forty bishops ; Baldwin, Emperor of 
Constantinople; Thaddeus de Suessa, procurator of the 
Emperor Frederic II, with the orators of Louis IX, those of 
the King of England, and of some other princes, too insig- 
nificant to have their names inserted here. 

In this council the Pope excommunicated Frederic II 
for heresy and other crimes, absolved his subjects from 
their oath of allegiance, and declared the throne vacant, 
after having deposed the Emperor, 

The right of a Pope to depose the King or Emperor, for 
crime, is not an article of faith; and the case we speak of, 
along with some others, must be decided on their own 
merits. 

On the principle involved, our theologians are divided. 
The extremists on one side claim for the Pope a direct right 
to depose kings — for 'crimes or tyrranies, as a matter of 
course. 

No one has ever dreamed of granting him such a power 
under any other circumstances. The extremists on the 
other side deny that the Pope can, for any reason whatever, 
lawfully depose a King. 

The intermediate view of the case, advocated by Cardinal 
T>ellarmine, Tract de Rom. Pontif, lib. 5, cap. 11, appears 
to be the true one, viz. : 

That the Pope has only an indirect power : that is to say, 
when the good of the Church and society require it, he can 



420 



ALETHAUKION . 



by excommunication declare a king fallen from his throne, 
and pronounce his subjects absolved from their oath of 
fidelity. 

The other reasons for convening the council were : 

First, The interruption of the Tartars 

Second, A desire to influence the Greeks to abandon their 
schism, and unite with the true Church. It is somewhat 
strange, however, that we find nothing in its acts bearing on 
that subject. 

Tliird, To condemn some heresies of those times. 

Fourth, To procure aid for the faithful in the Holy Land 
against the Saracens. 

The fourteenth general council was held also at Lyons, 
A. D. 1274, during the pontificate of Pope Gregory X, who 
presided at it in person. 

Along with the Latin patriarchs, there were present Panta- 
leo, patriarch of Constantinople; Opizio, patriarch of Anti- 
och; five hundred bishops, seventy abbots, and upwards of a 
thousand other inferior prelates, besides kings, or their 
embassadors. 

In this council the Greek schismatics formally united with 
the true Church, after having admitted that the Holy Ghost 
proceeds from the Father and Son, and that the Pope of 
Rome is, by divine right, head of the Universal Church 

The twenty-third disciplinary canon of the second Council * 
of Lyons is remarkable, from the fact that it forbids the 
establishment of new religious orders, and suppresses all the 
mendicant orders that came into existence since the Lateran 
Council, A. D. 1215, such, of course, as had not been con- 
firmed by the Holy See. 

The fifteenth general council which lasted four years, viz. : 
from 1307 to 1311, was held at Tienne, inDauphiny, during 
the pontificate of Pope Clement V. 

Besides the cardinals and patriarchs of Alexandria and 
Antioch, there were present three hundred bishops and a 



ALETHAURION. 



421 



vast concourse of inferior prelates. The Pope in person 
presided. 

The work of this council consisted principally in the sup- 
pression of the Knights Templar, and in the condemnation 
of the errors of some obscure sects then in existence. 

The Knights Templar were first organized in Jerusalem, 
about the year 1118 of our era, by Hugh de Paganes and 
Geoffrey de Saint-Omer. Their object was to protect the 
holy sepulchre of our Lord against infidels. 

Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem, gave them a house, sup- 
posed to have occupied the site of the temple of Solomon ; 
and from this circumstance they were called Templars. In 
course of time the order became very rich, and its members 
correspondingly corrupt, in France and other European 
countries. 

They were accused of denying Jesus Christ, and of spit- 
ting on the cross at their initiation, of sins against nature in 
their temples ; of adoring an idol with a gilt head and four 
legs ; of practicing magic, and of obliging all postulants to 
take a horrible oath of secrecy. 

For these and other blasphemies, many were tried, found 
guilty, and executed. Others escaped, and founded a secret 
society whose foundation stones were : hatred of Jesus 
Christ and war against the Pope. 

Some Gallican writers regarded the Council of Constance 
as ecumenical. In it was extinguished the great schism of 
the west, and the errors of JohnHuss and Jerome of Prague, 
jackals of Luther, were condemned. 

When this council began, A. D. 1414, there were three 
Popes, viz : John XXIII, Gregory XII, and Benedict 
XIII, each of whom claimed to be the legitimate Pope. 

But, at its close, in the year 1418, Martin V, elected 
by the Fathers of the council, was universally acknowl- 
edged to be the successor of Peter, all the others having 
resigned. 



422 



ALETHAURION. 



In the last session, the Pope confirmed all that had been 
done "conciliariter'' in the council. 

Gallican writers also regarded the Council of Bale as 
ecumenical, up to its twenty-sixth session. It was convened 
A. D. 1431, in virtue of a decree made in the thirty-ninth 
session of tl}e Council of Constance, and was prolonged to 
the year 1443. 

Pope Eugene IV, withdrew from it in 1437, and some of 
the bishops of Gallican proclivities thought they could 'get 
along without him. It was that old case of the body and 
members declaring themselves free and independent of the 
head. They went even farther, by electing the Duke of 
Savoy as anti-pope, who took the title of Felix V. 

The sixteenth general council was held A. D. 1438, first 
at Ferrara, for a year, and then, on account of a pestilence 
that had broken out in the city, transferred to Florence. 

Pope Eugene IV, presided. In this council the Greek 
schismatics united with the true Church ; and a formula of 
belief, written by the Pojoe, for the Armenian schismatics,, 
was by them accepted A. D. 1441. 

The seventeenth general council was that of Trent, begun 
A. D. 1545, and finished A. D. 1563. 

Of this, and of the Vatican, in a future chapter. 



CHAPTER XCIX. 



bird's eye view of the general councils. 

The seventeenth general council was held at Trent, a town 
of Tyrol, situated a little to the north of the Italian frontier. 
It was the most remarkable assembly ever convened, since 
that day when Christ told the Apostles to go forth and 
teach all nations. 

The Bishops of former Councils sometimes had no more 
than one or two errors to examine and condemn. The 



ALETH AURI0N . 



423 



Fathers of Trent came together to take cognizance of Pro- 
testantism, which is a conglomeration of all the heresies that 
ever were, and we may add, that ever will be. As the 
Catholic Church teaches all that the Saviour revealed ; so, 
Protestantism is equally universal, in that it denies every- 
thing He wishes men to know and believe. 

The Church need not any longer dread the appearance of 
new heresies ; for Luthek and his brood have exhausted the 
catalogue of possibilities. Rationalism and Materialism, 
which are the principal ingredients of Protestantism, already 
deny the existence of a personal God. The mystery of 
creation is consequently impugned, and Pantheism installed 
in its place. The Socinians, or Unitarians, deny the mys- 
tery of the most Holy Trinity, and reject the Incarnation 
and Atonement of the Son of God, as also the divinity of 
the Holy Ghost. 

The Universalists believe there is no hell ; and Ingersoll, 
a sturdy, rubicund protestor, is advocating their cause. 

The Methodists and Presbyterians reject five of the seven 
sacraments instituted by Christ as a means of salvation^ 
The Baptists and Campbellites deny the utility of infant 
baptism ; impugning thereby the doctrine relating to the 
propagation of original sin. 

The Mormon apostles are at variance with the Apostles of 
old, on the subject of matrimony ; and the Spiritists of our 
day have revived once more the Theurgy and Diabolism of 
Pagan times. 

To finish all in one sentence : Let the reader call to mind 
any one of the doctrines taught by Christ, and he will find 
a Protestant to deny, may be to laugh or make sport of it. 

It was to attack this many headed hydra, and to provide 
an antidote to its venom, and to that of the brood yet within 
its womb, that on the morning of the thirteenth day of 
December, 1545, at the bidding of Paul III, Pope of Rome 
Johx Mary de Monte, Marcellus Cervinus, and Re- 
ginald Pole, cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, and 



424 



ALETHAURION. 



the legates of the See of Peter, at the head of a chosen 
band of bishops, appeared at Trent. From there were pro- 
claimed anew, and in a solemn manner, to the whole world, 
doctrines taught by the Son of God, and sealed with His 
blood. 

The council lasted for eighteen years. But most of those 
who had taken part in its first session had gone to their 
eternal rest before the morning of the fourth of December 
1563, when Zambeccarus, of Sulmo, approached the altar 
to offer sacrifice for the happy conclusion of its twenty-fifth 
and last sitting. 

Pius IV was then Pope. His predecessors, Paul III, 
Julius III and Paul IV had watched, each in turn, the 
progress of the council, until wearied, they sank at the post 
of duty and went to their reward. 

Two histories of the council of Trent have been written ; 
the one by Paolo Sarpi, a Venetian, who under the cowl 
and frock of a monk, concealed a Protestant head and 
heart. 

Pope Paul V, and the Senate of Venice were, at that 
time, not on the best of terms ; and Sarpi, who hated Rome, 
thought to ingratiate himself with the leading men of his 
native city, by spewing out his bile against the Tridentine 
Fathers. 

But after the difference had been amicably adjusted by 
the mediation of Henry IV, Sarpi no longer daring to pub- 
lish his work in Italy, contrived to put the manuscripts into 
the hands of Marc Axtoxio de Domixis, another apostate ; 
and through him an English bookseller has given to the 
world a monument that well illustrates the cunning, dupli- 
city and disregard for truth of its author. 

To refute this book and give a true history of the Great 
Council, Cardinal Pallayicini undertook his admirable 
work, 4i The History of the Council of Trent," which first 
sippeared in print about the year 1665, and which is based 
upon official and authentic documents. 



ALETHAURION. 



425 



The work of Sarpi, translated into French, with notes by 
Le Couryer, was also handsomely riddled in a volume pub- 
lished at Nancy in 1742, entitled, " The Honor of the Cath- 
olic Church and of the Sovereign Pontiffs, defended against 
the History of the Council of Trent by Fra Paolo, and the 
notes of Father Le Couryer." 

We have not space here to give even a synopsis of what 
"was done in the various sessions of the Council. 

But in general, we may say, that the work of the Triden- 
tine Fathers has been, not only the reformation of the Uni- 
versal Church, but the exposure and condemnation of Pro- 
testantism in its root and in its branches. 

The eighteenth and last of the general councils was that 
of the Vatican, begun A. D. 1869, on the Feast of the Im- 
maculate Conception, and continued through a part of the 
following year, until cannon .guns silenced the canon law, 
and brute force leveled the barriers of justice. 

The Vatican is one of the hills of Rome, and stands at the 
southwestern extremity of the present city. On it the Pope 
has his palace, and at the foot of the hill, stands the Church 
of St. Peter, the noblest monument ever raised by mortal 
hands for the worship of the Almighty. The ground plan 
embraces an area of six English acres, and under the high 
altar, in a receptacle of gold, adorned with precious stones, 
• are the mortal remains of the first Pope, Simon Peter, the 
fisherman of Galilee. 

It was in this church that almost a thousand bishops, with 
Pius IX at their head, met, and after due deliberation, de- 
fined and declared it to be an article of faith, taught by 
Christ and by the Apostles, that the Pope, the successor of 
St. Peter, prince of the Apostles, when speaking ex cathe- 
dra, that is addressing the Universal Church on a question 
appertaining to faith and morals, is infallible. 

We have now given the back-bone of Church history ; and 
in our next we return to do some more chiseling around one 



426 



ALETHAURION. 



of the eyes of the mighty statue — we go back to the life and 
times of St. Paul. 



CHAPTER C. 



ST. PAUL VISITS THE CHUECHES OF SYRIA AND CILICIA — HE 
CARRIES THE GOOD TIDINGS INTO MACEDONIA. 

After 'the question in regard to circumcision had been set- 
tled by the council of Jerusalem, a disagreement arose be- 
tween Paul and Barnabas, and they separated, Even good 
and holy men may differ about the means to a desired end. 
AVe should never, therefore, get angry with others because 
they do not see things as we do. 

But give a little authority to a blockhead, and it makes a 
tyrant of him. Fear is then the best medicine to bring him 
to his senses. 

No man should idolize his own will unless he be sure that 
his intelligence, on a controverted point, outweighs the com- 
bined wisdom of his opponents. This attachment of a man 
of intellect to his opinion is called firmness, but a fool's 
infatuation with his fancies is termed obstinacy. 

" Make an agreement,'' said the Saviour, "with thine adversary quickly, 
whilst thou art in the way with him ; lest, perhaps, the adversary deliver 
thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou he 
cast into prison.'' 

It is better to separate in peace from those with whom we 
cannot agree, than to provoke strife for the purpose of mak- 
ing a display of our strength 

Far from getting angry or testing their strength, one with 
the other, Paul and Barnabas took thenceforth different 
roads. 

Silas became associated with the former, and John, sur- 
named Mark, followed the latter. 



ALETHAURION. 



427 



When Paul and Silas, in the course of their visitation of 
the churches, had come to Derbe and Lystra, towns of Asia 
Minor, they found in one of them a young man named 
Timothy, who was well spoken of through the country round 
about. 

The mother of this youth was a Jewess, but his father was 
a Pagan. 

Now, according to the law of Moses, it was not permitted 
a daughter of Israel to receive in marriage the hand of a 
Gentile, lest she might thereby be drawn away from the 
faith of her fathers. 

But this woman, it appears, ran the risk. And though 
she did not lose the faith herself, yet it would seem that her 
son grew up without the practice of it, for he was not cir- 
cumcised, as by the law he should have been on the eighth 
day after his birth. 

Most probably Timothy, in his boyhood, was neither a 
Jew nor a Gentile, but half and half ; not caring much for 
either. He was raised up in indifference, for the faith of 
his mother was chilled by his father's unbelief. 

Still, through the mercy of God he received the grace of 
conversion, and therein his example differs from that of so 
many others, who are born of mixed marriages. 

The Church very wisely discountenances the union of any 
of her children with Infidels or false believers. And no 
Catholic should, except for the very gravest cause, ever 
dream of accompanying to the altar any but one of his own 
faith. 

The husband and wife, who ought to be twain in one flesh, 
cannot be so in the strict sense, whilst one is a Catholic and 
the other an unbeliever. 

Not many miles away from where the writer now resides, 
there was a sectarian preacher married to a Catholic lady. 
Whether he took to preaching after the union or before it, 
we have not been able to learn. At any rate, the faith of 
his wife he felt to be a drawback to his own success as a 



428 



ALETHAURION. 



pulpit thumper, so he tried to "convert" her, and took a 
novel way of doing it. On Fridays he would sometimes 
seize hold of her around the neck, force meat into her mouth 
and almost ram it down the poor woman's throat. Her 
modesty kept her a long time from exposing the wretch ; 
but, the persecution continued, she could not stand it always 
and she left him. This is an extreme case, but it should be 
a warning. 

" Bear not the yoke together with unbelievers."" says St. Paul, " for 
what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath 
light with darkness? " II Cor. vi, 14. 

Heretics, on the other hand, have nothing like this to fear 
from Catholics, for no priest nor bishop will receive an adult 
into the Church unless such person first makes a free and 
open confession that he believes everything the Church teach- 
es. We respect conscience, even where we have good rea- 
son to suppose that it is benumbed by pride and worldliness. 
We leave judgment of such matter to Him who sees the 
heart, and make use of means that are righteous beyond all 
suspicion, satisfied, as we are, that a hypocritical convert is 
worse than an avowed Infidel. 

After having confirmed the brethren at Derbe, Paul, 
Silas and Timothy visited the other Churches of Asia 
Minor. But, when they had come to where stood the city of 
ancient Troy, Paul was admonished, in a vision, to pass 
over into Macedonia. They accordingly took shipping, and, 
in due time, arrived at Neapolis, and thence proceeded to 
Philippi, the chief town. Here he converted a woman 
named Lydia, a seller of purple, and baptized not only her- 
self but her whole family, in which, we may reasonably pre- 
sume, there were some children who had not come to the age 
of reason. 

There, also, he came into contact with that pythoness or 
clairvoyant mentioned in a former chapter. Whether the 
demon by which she was possessed, gave testimony to the 
truth on that occasion, of his own free will, or whether he 



ALETHAUKION. 



429 



was compelled to do so by a higher power, is a question that 
might challenge inspection. 

Taking all the circumstances of the case into considera- 
tion, it would appear that he was forced to make the con- 
fession. Still, he may have done it for sinister purposes, 
known to himself. 

Infidels and heretics sometimes speak and write fine things 
of the Catholic Church, and yet their praises do us no good 
because a nimbus of insincerity overshadows the picture. 

Who knows but this demon may have thus introduced 
St. Paul for the express purpose of paralyzing his influ- 
ence or of getting him into trouble with the owner of the 
pythoness. If he had the latter object in view, he certainly 
succeeded to a nicety, for St. Paul was publicly scourged 
and thrown into prison on account of her. Nevertheless, it 
may have been at the other object he was aiming, viz : To 
put a suspicion of fraud from the start on whatever the 
Apostle might say. 

It is well known that the devil can never tell a story 
story straight, and without doubt those who knew the 
pythoness and heard her prophecies, were fully aware that 
she often mixed up the leaven of falsehood with many things 
that were true. Hence their faith in her entire veracity 
was not unbounded, and Satan knew well that her testi- 
mony in favor of the Apostles would be recieved by the 
Pagans with a sardonic grin, and a large grain of salt. 

Whilst in prison, which was only for one night, St. Paul 
converted and baptized the jailer, with his whole family. 

After a careful consideration of the facts and circum- 
stances of this conversion, as given in Acts xvi, it will 
readily occur to the reader that baptism on the occasion 
must have been administered either by sprinkling or by 
pouring, unless, perchance, the authorities kept a hogs- 
head of water for the purpose of ducking the prisoners — a 
supposition that must not be too readily entertained, for 
that method of punishment is rather a modern invention. 



430 ALETHAURION. 

In our next we accompany St. Paul to Thessalonica and 
Berea. 



CHAPTER CI. 



ST. PAUL AT THESSALONICA AND BEREA. 

Leaving Philippi, Paul and his two companions. Silas 
and Timothy, came to the city of Thessalonica. 

According to custom he began the work of evangelizing 
in one of the synagogues, with the usual result. 

Many of the Jews and Gentiles believed, but those who 
did not, raised a tumult, which made it unsafe to remain 
longer with them. 

Instead of meeting him in argument, and showing that 
his reasoning was fallacious, they had recourse to a much 
better plan. 

They went to the civil magistrates, and complained that 
Paul was preaching contrary to the decrees of Caesar, 
"saying that there is another King Jesus." Acts, xvi, 7. 

Let the reader here take notice of the villainy of those 
Jews of Thessalonica. In their hearts they hated Cesar, 
but were willing then to show great zeal' in his behalf, in 
order to crush the Apostle, and they succeeded. 

This same thing has happened time and again in every 
age of the world's history, since Christ lived on earth. 
The enemies of truth, with an eye to present success, have 
accused the Apostles and their successors, even to the pres- 
ent day, of being hostile to Cear. In this country, where 
we have no C^Esar, in the literal sense, the calumny takes 
another shape. The Catholic Church, say the enemies of 
the Gospel, is inimical to civil liberty. It is the same old 
lie, put in different words. 

It is astonishing that well-meaning heretics, whilst read- 
ing the New Testament, especially the Acts and Epistles of 



ALETHAUKION . 



431 



the Apostles, do not at once see and recognize the identity 
of the Roman Church of the present day with that of which 
Paul was so distinguished a champion. 

Why is it that the sects do not meet with the same oppo- 
sition from the World, the Flesh and the Devil that we have 
to encounter? 

It is because the World, the Flesh and the Devil see in 
them nothing but shams, too ridiculous to call for serious 
attention, and of parts too incoherent to exert any salutary 
force. 

From Thessalonica Paul went to Berea, a town forty-five 
miles distant. 

Now, those Jews of Berea were more noble than they of 
Thessalonica, and for this reason: Instead of opposing 
Paul by calumny and misrepresentation, they listened to 
what he said about Christ, believed his teachings, and to 
strengthen themselves yet more, by making their faith a 
reasonable one, they examined those parts of the ancient 
prophecies which the Apostle had commented upon. 

Those Bereans may be likened to many excellent men and 
women of our own times, who, though brought up in heresy 
and presumptions ignorance, have, upon hearing a Catholic 
sermon or reading some Catholic book, been led to examine 
the sacred writings with a more critical eye, and finally to 
enter the true fold. 

These may be also said to be more noble of soul than 
those of their brethren who are content to remain in heresy, 
and calumniate the Church of Rome as an excuse for their 
obstinacy. 

But, when the Jews in Thessalonica had knowledge that 
the Word of God was also preached by Paul at Berea, they 
came thither, stirring up and disturbing the multitude. Acts, 
xvii, 13. 

He was once more obliged to beat a hasty retreat. So 
turning his face southward, he departed for Athens. Before 
we accompany him thither, it may be well to make an 



432 



ALETHAUEION. 



observation concerning those Jews of Berea who were "moie 
noble* ' than the} r of Thessalonica. 

Some modern heretics have very much abused this scrip- 
ture testimony. They wish to make it appear that the reason 
wmy the Bereans were praised was because they did not 
believe Paul's preaching until they had examined the 
scriptures, to see whether he was right or wrong. 

Now, such an interpretation is contradicted by the con- 
text and the circumstances of the case. 

Certainly it would have been strange in Luke, the writer 

of Acts, to have called any one noble who refused to believe 

or set up his' own private judgment against the teaching of 

an inspired Apostle. True nobility consists in believing at 

once what God has revealed, because His authorized agents 

can teach only what is in conformity with the natural law, 

inscribed upon the heart of man from the beginning. 

Hence, it is a sure proof, where one disbelieves, or hesitates 

to accept the truth fairly proposed, that his heart is not right 

in the sight of God — that he is a crooked tube, through 

which the sun's light will not pass. 

ik He that doth not believe is already judged, because he believeth not in 
the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, 
because the light is come into the world, and men loved darkness better 
than light ; for their works were evil. For every one that doth evil, hat- 
eth the light, and cometh not to the light, that his works may not be re- 
proved. But he that doth truth, cometh to the light, that his works may 
be made manifest because they are done in God/' — (John iii, 18-21.) 

Let the reader draw on his experience, and he will find 

that the more ready a man is to reject the Gospel, the proner 

he also will be to accept error of almost any kind. A 

crooked man will believe a liar far sooner than he will an 

Apostle. 

The following incident was related to the writer some 
seven years ago, by a man named Durbin, who then lived, 
and may be does yet, on the Irvin road, about six miles 
"beyond Richmond, in this State : "When I was a boy," said 
he, 4 4 my father had a farm up in the neighborhood of 



ALETHAURION. 



433 



Station Camp, and one summer there came to the place a 
strange preacher, who held protracted meetings, and set the 
whole country 'round about almost wild with religious 
excitement. After he had baptized several hundred persons 
in the creeks and pools around there, one morning he turned 
up missing, though a large crowd stood awaiting his arrival 
at the meeting house ; and not a few were there in mourn- 
er's rig, ready to go into the pond to be dipped. On 
toward noon, before the assembly had dispersed, some well- 
armed strangers rode up and made inquiry in regard to the 
whereabouts of a man who, under the guise of a preacher, 
had been doing a large business in horse-flesh. They were 
officers of the law, and the supposed preacher was a horse- 
thief. His confederates would slip off with the best ani- 
mals, whilst he was expounding the Bible inside the 
meeting-house, at night. But during his brief missionary 
career, there were more searchers of the Scripture around 
that locality than were ever known before or since." 

To search the Scriptures, of itself, ennobles no one. 
Witness the Pharisees of old, to whom the Saviour said: 

'•You search the Scriptures, for you think in them to have life everlast- 
ing, and the same are they that give testimony of me, and you will not 
come to me that you may have life." — John v, 39. 

Some heretics and infidels do also, in our day, search the 
Scriptures but without the proper spirit, and hence, like the 
Pharisees, they derive no good from them. 

Still, those who have recourse to the Bible to find argu- 
ments against the Church, like those Bereans spoke of, are 
in a sense more noble than others who, like the Thessalonian 
Jews, rely altogether upon trickery, misrepresentations and 
lies. 

But truly noble is he who, having received the virtue of 
faith in baptism, reads the Scriptures with a contrite and 
humble heart, by that light which the Church holds aloft, 
that all may see and know the Truth. 



434 



ALETHAURION . 



In our next we will take a view of St. Paul, as he 
appeared amongst the philosophers and statesmen of Athens. 



CHAPTER CIL 



ST. PAUL PREACHES THE GOSPEL TO THE ATHENIANS HE CON- 
VERTS DIONYSIUS, THE AREOPAGITE, AND OTHERS TO 
THE FAITH. 

Athens was, in many respects, the most remarkable city 
of ancient times. Though at no period of its history very 
large ; its citizens had for ages the reputation of being the 
most learned and refined of the human race. 

From their lofty perch they looked down with complacency 
and contempt upon all outside barbarians. And even the 
other cities of Greece, they were disposed to regard with 
feelings akin to pity. 

They had models of excellence in almost every department 
at home, which made them imagine that, though Athens 
might teach, it had nothing to learn from others. 

Solon was their law-giver ; Homer their poet ; Miltiades, 
Themistocles , and Cimon their warriors ; Socrates and 
Plato their philosophers ; Phidias and Praxiteles their 
sculptors. Demosthenes and ^Eschines illustrated in their 
speeches, what an orator should be ; whilst JEschylus, 
Sophacles and Euripides wooed the tragic muse with a 
success unparalleled in days of yore. 

They had the typical statesman in Pericles ; Thucydides 
told the story of their deeds of valor, and told it well ; the 
sarcastic Aristophanes made them laugh at folly ; and 
Alcibiades furnished them with the beau ideal of a fast 
young man. 

Thus, it will be seen, that the Athenians had good reason 
for being pleased with themselves and their city. No other 



ALETHAUBION. 



435 



did before, or has to this day, produced such an array of 
unmistakable genius. 

When we recollect that the little children on the streets, 
and even the wharf-rats and gutter-snipes around Piraeus, 
spoke sweeter Greek than our most learned professors, we 
will experience no pang in withdrawing from the race, and 
yielding by acclamation, the palm to Athens. True it is 
that Philip chastised them at Cheronea, and the Romans 
drubbed them in after years ; still, their vanity was great, 
for past glories will gild the captive's chain, and throw a 
halo around his dungeon. 

The Athenian Republic was the purest democracy that has 
ever been, and its free citizens, taken as a body, the most 
learned and critical ever known. 

When an orator mounted the stand in the agora, to 
address the people, he had to be choice in his words and 
pronunciation, or else be whistled down by his hearers. 

The story is told, in classical literature, that Demosthe- 
nes once played a shrewd trick on his great rival, ^Eschines. 

When delivering his speech "On the Crown," he asked 
the people to say whether iEscmNES was not a hireling : 
misthotes — putting the accent on the second syllable ; they, 
hearing the word mispronounced, cried out at once mistho- 
tes ! misthotes ! putting the accent on the final where it 
belonged. 

It was to this, people puffed up with vain admiration of 
themselves and of their ancestors, that Paul came with the 
hope of leading them to the light of faith. Humanly speak- 
ing, the prospect of success was faint. Intellectually, Paul 
might have been, and probably was, the equal of any of 
their great heroes or sages ; but he was a Jew, with an 
uncouth accent, and his words and sentences wanted the 
.grace and polish of those to which their ears had been long 
accustomed. 

The philosophers and statesmen of Athens, looked for 
nothing in the line of knowledge from outside barbarians. 



436 



ALETHAURION. 



And sooner would Jay Gould ask advice in finance, of the 
humblest brakeman in his employ, than an Epicurean or 
Stoic, would think of consulting a Jew, to learn the nature 
or genealogy of the immortal gods. 

But truth is mighty and will prevail. As the stars grow 
pale when the day has dawned, so has Grecian philosophy 
lost its luster before a superior light ; and Grecian culture is 
hollow and counterfeit, as compared with Christian civiliza- 
tion. 

Paul has supplanted Plato ; and Socrates, with his cup 
of hemlock, ordering the sacrifice of a cock to Esculapius, 
has ceased to be a model. 

Having arrived at Athens, Paul sent word to Silas and 
Timothy to come to him. No doubt he felt somewhat 
isolated, and, before beginning work, he wished to have the 
support and encouragement of his two friends and co- 
laborers. 

4 'Whilst he waited for them at Athens, his spirit was ex- 
cited within him, seeing the city given up to idolatry." 
Acts xvii, 16. 

Bat, like the valiant soldier that he was, he could not let 
his sword rest in its scabbard, with the enemy before him 
and anxious for the fray. An Athenian was always ready 
for a dispute, so, considering the natural bent of Paul's 
mind, and his zeal for religion, they must have had a lively 
time at Athens while he stayed there. When Greek meets 
Greek, then comes the tug of war. 

He began, as usual, in the synagogues amongst the Jews, 
but did not neglect the Pagans. Every day in the market 
place, the people flocked around to heai, to them, a new 
story about the true God, and the incarnation, birth, life, 
miracles, death, resurrection and ascension of His Son. 

The philosophers who frequented the a govs, to make a 
display of their learning, and be refreshed with the praises 
of the bystanders, could not long endure seeing a mere Jew, 



ALETHAURION. 



437 



with a foreign accent, drawing attention away from them- 
selves. 

Hence, they disputed with him, but soon discovered they 
had mistaken their man. He appeared not only familiar 
with their different schools of philosophy, but there was also 
a certain indefinite superiority in his conceptions which para- 
lyzed argumentative opposition. 

They found themselves checkmated, and all their philoso- 
phical pieces worthless, after a few rapid and brilliant moves 
on the part of their opponent. 

One of them, with a face flushed with anger, and still 
writhing from the lash, called Paul nothing but a babbler. 

Others who stood by listening, stole off quietly, and on 
being asked who this man was that created so much talk, 
replied somewhat more respecf ully : "He seemeth to be a 
publisher of new gods." Acts, xvii, 18. 

An old tradition amongst the Greeks, to which the writer 
does not, however, attribute any historical importance, in- 
forms us that the name of the Epicurean snuffed out by the 
Apostle on the occasion alluded to, was Boroxtes. 

From the derivation of the word, we would be led to sup- 
pose that he must have been a great eater and drinker — 
boros, in Greek, signifying edacious. 

But, on account of a habit he had when speaking in pub- 
lic, of whining and trying to excite the pity of his hearers, 
an attic wit of the day, called him Boroxtes Mega to 
Brephos ; in English, Boroxter, the big pappoose. From 
his mother, a Cretan, he inherited a disposition to lie, and 
from » his father, a Boeotian, the inability to cover up his 
tracks. 

He held the office of Epistates, or Mayor, in one of the 
little country towns, until, having become thoroughly odious 
to the people, on account of his avarice and venality, he 
was obliged to fly from the place at night to Athens, for 
protection. 



438 



ALETHAURION. 



There he started a sort of business house, which was a com- 
promise between a bank, a pawn, and a note-shaving establish- 
ment. But, he was universally despised, and many secretly 
rejoiced, when Paul covered the impudent fellow with con- 
fusion. 

A victory over such a man is, at best, not worth talking 
about ; it is simply abating a nuisance, and nothing more. 

The big pappoose having been disposed of, some of the 
other philosophers invited Paul to give a regular discourse 
on the Hill of Mars, in the presence of the chief men of the 
city. He readily assented, and his discourse must have been 
a master-piece, for he converted Dionysius, one of the 
judges ; also a woman named Damaris, and others. 

Dionysius or Dennis was ordained Bishop of Athens by 
the Apostle, and according to Eusebius iv, 25, it seems that 
he suffered martyrdom for the faith. 

But whether or not he succeeded in converting the big 
pappoose, is a matter on which history and tradition are both 
silent. 

In our next we accompany the great Apostle to Corinth. 



CHAPTER CIII. 



ST. PAUL AT CORINTH. 

Leaving Athens, Paul came to Corinth, one of the prin- 
cipal cities of Greece, and at that time a place of consider- 
able commercial importance. 

Finding there a converted Jew named Aquila, a tent 
maker by trade, he stayed with him, working during the 
week at the same business ; but on the Sabbath, disputing 
in the synagogue, and persuading the Jews and the Greeks. 

Before going further, it may be well to make here an ob- 
servation about Paul's example in doing manual labor. 



ALETHAURION . 



439 



Whatever an Apostle is known to have done, one may do 
again, without danger of disgrace, or even impropriety. 

Hence, manual labor dishonors no one who has not other 
means of gaining a livelihood. 

The disciple is not above the master, and our masters and 
teachers under Christ are the Apostles. 

So far, the theory and the principles involved ; now for 
the practice : 

There are some greedy, groveling men, who are so wrapt 
up in the rags and enamored of the trash of this world that 
they may be said to be but little above mere animals. 

As swine feeding on acorns under a tree never look up to 
the branches from which their food descends, so those men 
enjoy what they have in coarse delight, and never raise their 
thoughts to God from whom all blessings flow. 

When asked to do something for the advancement of re- 
ligion, their text is ready, and their excuse formulated. 

"Paul," they say, "worked with his own hands on week 
days, then preached on the Sabbath. Why don't the minis- 
ters now do likewise, and let the gospel be free for every- 
one?" 

Some wit once said, that farthings were first coined hi 
order to give Scotchmen a chance to contribute to orphan 
asylums ; and we may say of the text in question, that St. 
Luke must have written it on purpose to give such people 
just the shadow of an excuse for their meanness. 

The writer has heard of a clergyman, who, during the 
week, plows in the field, shucks corn, feeds the hogs, looks 
after the chickens and turkeys, and, on Sundays, officiates 
in stoga boots — unpolished. 

His mode of life would seem to be apostolic and primitive 
enough for even the most exacting ; and, if he lived in a 
community w T here all were Pagans, unwilling to contribute 
anything for his support, he would be deserving of high 
honor, and entitled to be ranked almost with the Apostles. 

But, where the faith is already planted, such primitiveness- 



440 



ALETHAURION. 



is not praiseworthy. A clergyman's labor lies in the field of 
thought, not in the cornfield. He is, by his profession, a 
fisher of men, not a feeder of swine. His cares are of an 
exalted and spiritual nature, not to be wasted on chickens 
and ducks. 

The same Apostle Paul, though, from all we can learn of 

him, not disposed at any time to say a great deal about 

money, yet did not fail in his day to read the law to the 

faithful on this very subject : 

u Know you not, 1 ' said he, "that they who work in the holy place, 
and they who serve the altar, partake with the altar? " " So also the 
Lord ordained that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel." 
I Cor. ix., 13-14. 

The faithful have a duty to fulfill. And, certainly, no 
Catholic should look upon himself as sinless who does not, 
according to his means, contribute to the support of his re- 
ligion. Still, it is better to say not enough than too much 
on this subject. 

It is a truth confirmed by the experience of many, that 
the vast majority of the faithful do their duty in this respect, 
and do it willingly ; witness the many splendid church 
edifices, schools, hospitals and asylums throughout the land. 
These are proofs of a great power behind the throne, and 
they show the tender love and respect of Catholics for their 
holy faith. 

Occasionally a curmudgeon is met with, like that rich old 
widow lady in one of the lower counties. She sent her pas- 
tor on New Years' day, in recognition of services for twelve 
months passed, two pippin apples and a coil of sausage meat 
— with her compliments. 

There is another matter also in this connection, which those 
advocates of a free gospel do not appear to take into consid- 
eration. The Apostles had no need of study to prepare 
themselves to announce the truth to the nations. 

Their knowledge came by divine inspiration. They were 
even forbidden to think beforehand, what they should say 



ALETHAURION. 



441 



when brought before kings and rulers. "It will be given 
you in that hour," said the Saviour, "what you shall speak." 
Matt, x, 19. 

Possibly, were we of the present day brought into the 
presence of such people, to answer for the faith that is in us, 
the Holy Spirit would also teach us what to say. Yet, it 
would not be wise nor profitable to make a practice of going 
up into the pulpit Sunday after Sunday, and blurting out 
the first thing that came into one's mouth. 

To preach the gospel reasonably well, requires not alone a 
certain natural aptitude, but also persistent and faithful 
study — unless, indeed, one should take the risk of being de- 
fected in the fraud of preaching, and passing off as his own, 
what another has written. 

Hence, the practice common from early ages of exempting 
ecclesiastics from military duty, and from all kinds of 
manual labor, is not only a mark of respect ; it is wise 
withal . 

The man who passes the week amongst cattle and hogs, 
followed through the fields by a flock of gobbling turkeys, 
will rarely have those finer qualities of mind, those 
adornments that are justly looked for around the altar. 
His person and his thoughts may recall memories of the 
hay-rick and stable, but they will not instruct, refine and 
ennoble. 

To gain this knowledge which should adorn the minis- 
terial character, time is required ; and not that alone, but 
freedom, to a considerable degree, from wordly cares and 
anxieties. 

" The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, 1 " says the Prophet Mala- 
chy, u and they shall seek the law at his month, because he is the angel 
of the Lord of hosts." Chap, ii, 7. 

The foregoing observations may serve to convict of folly, 

those whose only show of religious zeal consists in finding 

fault, and being more apostolic in talk at least, than the 

Apostles themselves would be were they now living. 



442 



ALETHAURIOX. 



Paul stayed one year and six months at Corinth, preach- 
ing the gospel and disputing with the Jews and Gentiles pro- 
miscuously. The former, seeing that the apostle always got 
the better of them in a debate, and that he was drawing 
many to believe in Cheist, did not fail to have recourse at 
last to physical arguments. 

Cunning is a characteristic of weakness, candor of 
strength. Error has many arts, truth is all simplicity — yet, 
truth conquers in the end. The fox has more tricks than the 
lion, but the lion is king nevertheless. 

So with the Jews and Paul. They brought him before 
the Governor, or Pro-Consul Gallio, and accused him of 
persuading men to worship God contrary to the law of 
Moses. 

Now Gallio, who was a Pagan, knew probably as much 
about Moses and the law as one of our country magistrates 
does about Chancellor Kext and his commentaries. But he 
was a different man from Poxtius Pilate, and the Jews 
found they could not use him as a tool to work iniquity. 

He listened patiently to what they they had to say, until 
he found it was all nothing but a wrangle about points of 
belief. Then he drove them off, telling them he would not 
be judge in such matters. 

Along with being a fair-minded man, Gallio must also' 
have been somewhat of a wag, able to enjoy a joke when he 
was not too drunk. For after he had dismissed the case a 
fight ensued between the Jews in the court-house ; to which, 
it is said, Gallio paid no h^ed. 

Most likely the .old Pagan chuckled heartily at seeing 
those zealous idiots cracking one another's heads — all for the 
love of Moses and the Law. 

In our next we follow St. Paul to Ephesus. 



ALETHAUEION. 



443 



CHAPTER CIV. 



ST. PAUL AT EPHESTJS. 

Leaving Athens Paul visited some of those churches 
founded by him, in Asia Minor ; then he went to Syria, and 
finally returned again to labor amongst the Greeks. 

He pitched his tent at Ephesus, and opened the campaign 
with some disciples of John the Baptist. These he baptized 
"in the name of the Lord Jesus," and also confirmed by 
the imposition of hands. Acts xix. 

We' have, in this circumstance, an argument against one 
of the errors of Luther. 

Relying on the false principle that man is justified by faith 
alone, the heresiarch taught that the sacraments are only 
means to excite our faith, and consequently, that the baptism 
of John, and in general, the sacraments of the Old Law, 
were in no wise different, as regards their efficacy, from those 
of the New Dispensation. 

The former, according to him, did nothing more than 
excite faith in a Redeemer to come, whilst the latter effect 
the same in a Saviour already born into the world. 

The fact that Paul regenerated some of those whom John 
had baptized, knocks the breath out of Luther's theory, 
and shows conclusively there is a difference between the bap- 
tism of John and that of Christ. 

The Catholic doctrine is : That the sacraments of the New 
Law, through the merits and by the will of Christ, confer 
grace by a virtue inherent to themselves — ex ojptre operato, 
as our theologians say. 

A sword may require a hand to wield it, but it takes off 
the head of a traitor by a power altogether its own. 

It may be proper here also to call attention to another 
matter. It is said that Paul baptized " in the name of the 



444 



ALETHAUKION. 



Lord Jesus." Now, in the true Church, it has always been 
held as essential to the validity of baptism, that the names 
of the three divine persons be expressly invoked. 

Some of our theologians, on the strength of the text al- 
ready given, have surmised that the Apostles, by a privilege 
peculiar to themselves, did sometimes baptize in the name 
of our Lord alone, omitting the express invocation of the 
Father and Holy Ghost. 

Others deny this, and explain the text by saying that the 
Apostles, though using the same form that we do, some- 
times added by way of elucidation, the name of the Lord 
Jesus. 

Hence, according to the latter, the form used on some 

occasions by them would be this : 

" I baptize thee in the name of the Father; and of the Son, the Lord 
Jesus; and of the Holy Ghost."' 

This gives a satisfactory explanation of the text, and at 
the same time, relieves us of the necessity of having 
recourse to the theory of a special privilege ; for which, in 
truth, there seems to be no solid foundation. 

We read also, in this xix chapter of Acts, that when Paul 
had imposed hands on those he had baptized, the Holy 
Ghost came upon them, and they spoke tongues, and pro- 
phesied. 

Here we have a clear proof of the sacrament of confirma- 
tion administered by an Apostle. Consult also on this head, 
Acts viii, 17. Some of the sects pretend to follow the 
scriptures as their rule of faith, yet do not practice the im- 
position of hands, so clearly taught in the sacred writings. 

Spiritually, of course, the imposition of a preacher's hands 
would not amount to any more than a clout from a babboon ; 
still, for the sake of consistency, it should have been 
retained in all the sectarian conventicles. 

Apropos of this, it may be proper to write down here, a 
little circumstance that happened not long ago : 

A Protestant lady, known by name to the writer, formed 



ALETHAUKION. 



445 



and expressed the intention of renouncing heresy to enter 
the true Church. 

She had been reading the scriptures to some purpose, and 
haviug found in the sixth chapter of St. John's Gospel, and 
in other places also of the sacred volume, such clear proofs 
of the doctrine of the Real Presence, she came at once to the 
conclusion that her own sect could not be the Church of the 
New Testament. This led to further investigation, and she 
resolved to become a Catholic. 

At this stage of the case, some of her friends and 
acquaintances, on learning her intentions, became more 
tender toward her than she had ever before known them to 
be. All agreed that it would be "just awful to go off and be- 
come a Catholic." 

The local preacher was called in ; but she polished him off 
so handsomely, in an argument, that he had her prayed for 
at meeting, on the following Sunday. 

Some that were there prayed also, in silence, for the 
preacher himself ; that he might have light from above, and 
that he might do less card playing and more study. 

But neither the prayers nor the entreaties of friends 
seemed to count for naught ; the case was becoming desper- 
ate — inveterate, so to speak. The preacher next bethought 
himself of a plan to still retain her as a member of his 
church, and at the same time, give peace of conscience on 
the subject of the Real Presence. 

Meeting her one day, quoth he : 

" Now you say that unless one eats of the flesh of the Son of Man, and 
drink His blood he cannot have life in him ; and he that eats the flesh of 
Jesus and drinks His blood abides in Christ and Christ in him, &c. I 
do not forbid you to believe so, if your conscience teaches you that such 
is the truth. But you can, without becoming a Catholic, do all that in 
our Church, every time you take the sacrament.' ' 

We have heard of an East Indian juggler who could 
change a rupee, held tight in another man's fist, into a Mex- 
ican silver dollar. But that jugglery by which a woman can 
change a piece of bread and some wine into the real body 



ALETHAURION 



and blood of Cheist by a simple thought, takes the lead 
and the blue ribbon. 

When will those preachers ever learn that Christ gave to 
the Apostles only, and to their successors, the bishops and 
priests of the Catholic Church, the power of forgiving sins, 
of transubstantiation, and, in general, of dispensing the 
mysteries of God. 

They are not the successors of the Apostles, for they have 
not a line of bishops extending back to apostolic times ; we 
have, and therein lies the difference. A Catholic bishop of 
the present day has all the ordinary powers that Christ 
gave the twelve, because they have been transmitted from 
one prelate to another, down through the arcade of ages, 
never to cease, in the Church, until the Archangel shall have 
sworn that time shall be no more. 

To return again to the question of confirmation : It is 
stated that " when Paul had imposed his hands on them, 
the Holy Ghost came upon them, and they spoke tongues 
and prophesied." 

Such extraordinary gifts were common in the days of the 
Apostles. Yet, it must not be supposed that all, upon 
whom their hands had been laid, received the powers 
alluded to. 

St. Paul reminds us of the contrary. He says : 

"And God, indeed, hath set some in the Church — first, apostles; 
secondly, prophets; thirdly, teachers; after that miracles, then the 
graces of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations 
of speeches. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? 
Are all workers of miracles? Have all the grace of healing? Do all 
speak with tongues? Do all interpret? " 1 Cor. xii, 2S-30. 

He then tells the Corinthians to be zealous for better 
gifts, and he would show them a more excellent way. Infi- 
dels, or persons on the way to unbelief, sometimes call 
attention to certain passages of Scripture to show that the 
promises of Christ have failed. 

" These signs," said the Saviour, " shall follow them that "believe; in 
my name they shall cast out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues ; 



ALETHAURION. 



447 



they shall take up serpents ; and if they shall drink any deadly thing, it 
shall not hurt them ; they shall lay their hands upon the sick, and they 
shall recover." Mark xvi, 17-18. 

Such things are not done now, hence either there are no 
true believers, or else the promise is a failure. 

Very well for you, Mr. Infidel. You quote scripture 
first rate, but you made a mistake in supposing that the 
above promises are made to each individual believer.- They 
are not made to the individual, but to that body, of which 
Christ is the head — the Roman Catholic Church. In it 
miracles have never ceased, and never will. 

Witness those of Lourdes and elsewhere, at the present 
day. These cannot be called in doubt without tearing up 
the very fundamental principles of certitude. 

Now we challenge one and all of the sects to give us even 
a single well authenticated miracle from their past histories. 
It will not do for them to look pious, and say that the time 
of dreams and holy communions is passed. 

If the day of miracles be passed, the Infidel is right, and 
the promises of Christ are made void. He did not set 
limit, why should we, since God is the same, yesterday, 
to-day, and forever. 

The time has never been when a false religious system 
could produce a real miracle, and that time will never come 
when it can. 

St. Paul's experience among the silversmiths at Ephesus 
will be our next subject. 



CHAPTER CV. 



DIANA OF THE EPHESIANS. 

Having spoken already of miracles, we here only call 
attention to the fact, that even those handkerchiefs and 
aprons that had touched the Apostles' body, acquired the 
virtue to cure diseases and to expel devils. Acts, xix, 12. 




448 



ALETHAURION. 



Heretics find fault with us sometimes, because we honor 
not only the saints themselves, but also their relics. They 
read the scriptures, and receive them as their rule of faith ; 
yet, having eyes, they see not how God Himself, by signs 
and wonders, has approved of the honor thus given. 

The descendants of Simon Magus may sometimes abuse 
these things ; and to peddle the Sacramentals may to some, 
appear less laborious and more profitable than to preach the 
gospel ; but the principle itself is sound, because clearly 
taught in the scriptures and approved by the Church. 

That a thing may be abused is no proof that it should not 
be used. 

In this connection, we may also briefly take note of the 
bad effect produced in the minds of the people by unscru- 
pulous writers, whose eyes are ever open to those human 
imperfections that have ever been, and will be, until the 
end of time. 

They do not see the good the Church has done, and is 
doing, as a society, but are on the alert to write down and 
publish abroad the short-comings of some individual who 
may represent religion in a peculiar locality. 

Such writers are nothing but literary scavengers. A buz- 
zard and an eagle flying over the same tract of country will 
see it differently. 

The eagle's eye will glance along the silvery stream, on 
whose sedgy banks the wild duck seeks its food, or over the 
moonlit lake where the beautiful swan loves to dwell, or it 
penetrates the sylvan shades to discover the well-rounded 
turkey, that perchance, dreams not of an enemy. The 
eagle sees only what has life, and is fair to the eye. 

But° the instincts of the buzzard are different.* He sees 
but the putrifying carcass ; and its odor, though offensive 
to men, is to him as the sweet fragrance of many flowers. 

Heretics, traveling in some of those old Catholic countries 
of Europe, do often remind us of carrion birds. They fail 
to notice the sobriety, justice and piety of the masses, and 



ALETIIAURION. 



449 



the patience with which they await the blessed hope and the 
coming of the glory of the great God, and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ. 

The magnificence of Catholic worship has no charms for 
them ; those splendid cathedrals that attest the zeal and piety 
of generations long since passed from earth to heaven, have 
for them no exalting influence. 

But let them see an old blear-eyed beggar, rattling his tin 
box and asking for alms, by one of the church doors ; ah ! 
then they brighten up, the buzzard has found something 
congenial, and he gloats over it. 

If that poor mendicant has about his person some emblem 
that recalls to his mind the atonement of the Son of God, 
and encourages him to look up from the miseries of earth to 
the bliss of heaven ; if he wears about his neck the relic of 
some saint whose virtues he desires to imitate, s,o much the 
better. The buzzard sees in all such, only a reason for his 
poverty. 

Such things, however, do not astonish us a great deal ; for 
we have grown accustomed to the malice of heretics, and we 
pity their blindness. 

But when a correspondent of a journal that has the name 
of being Catholic, writes in the same strain, and dishes up 
to his readers not the virtues of a people that have done so 
much for the faith, in our day and generation, but the short- 
comings, real or supposed, of some of their leading men in 
the Church, our feelings are of scorn, and we at once repu- 
diate such a monster. 

One enemy in camp is capable of doing more harm than a 
dozen without. We have no use for a Ther sites, to stir up 
dissension and disaffection amongst believers in a country 
like this, where there are so many others, whom to save we 
must first conquer. 

If any one of the faithful has a grievance, that he thinks 
needs redress ; or, if there be evils in the Church, that in 
his zeal he desires to see clipped into due proportions, there 



450 



ALETH AURION . 



is an authority to which he may appeal, a tribunal that will 
investigate each alleged abuse, and as far as possible, pro- 
Tide a remedy. 

Our enemies sometimes do us good by putting us in mind 
of our faults ; but our true friends will never publish them. 
It is the snake in the grass, the traitor in the camp, that 
does it. 

In making these observations, however, let it be under- 
stood that they are not meant to reflect adversely upon the 
course of some, who, in our day, have sharpened their 
crayons against an absolutism, which neither our fathers nor 
we were able to bear. 

The Holy See itself, though possessed of the plenitude of 
power, is never absolute. It ever has and does respect the 
rights of all. Equally just and considerate toward those 
who rule and those who obey, it will not abrogate privileges 
granted to prelates in missionary lands until it has become 
clear that power has been abused. 

But when, through human fraility, or through a desire to 
ape the rulers of this world, that which was granted for the 
purpose of building up, has been turned into an engine of 
destruction, then the Holy See takes it away. 

After Paul had preached at Ephesus, for about two years 
and three months, the number of his converts was great. 
They who had abandoned Spiritism for Christianity, in proof 
of sincerity, brought their magic-books to the public square 
and burned them. 

Toward the end of the period above mentioned, a new 
coalition was formed against the Apostle. It took the shape 
of a trades-union of silversmiths. 

There was, in those days, at Ephesus, a temple of Diana, 
of such magnificent architecture and vast proportions, that 
it passed for one of the seven wonders of the world. Inside 
was a colossal statue of the goddess, and, attached to it, 
numerous smaller ones, put there as votive offerings, by the 
piously inclined. 



ALETHAUEION. 



451 



Men of wealth were accustomed also to have silver shrines 
made, and set up in the temple, as well as in their own 
houses. And this love and respect of the entire community 
for the great Diana was a source of considerable revenue to 
the jewelers. 

It became evident to these that, if Paul was permitted to 
go on preaching, Diana would sooner or later give up the 
ghost, and their custom would go to Hades with her. 

Demetrius, one of their number, made them a speech, 
and a good one it seems, for he put the whole city in an 
uproar. 

The people rushed into the theatre, some not knowing 
why or wherefore they had come there. But all joined in 
the cry : " Great is Diana of theEphesians." Actsxix, 28. 

Paul, with his natural impetuosity and fearlessness, was 
also about to proceed thither ; but the brethren would not 
suffer him to do so ; for the Pagans would have torn him 
limb from limb, and the Jews would have willingly buried 
the pieces forever out of sight. Finally the town clerk suc- 
ceeded in restoring order, and the day ended peaceably. 

Our next will be about societies. 



CHAPTER CVI. 



SOCIETIES. 

The uproar against St. Paul, raised by the silversmith 
trades-union at Ephesus, gives us an opportunity of stating 
a few truths, and giving expression to some views on the 
subject of societies. 

The word is used in various senses, but here it is 
employed to mean an organization of any kind. 

The highest type is seen in God. The three divine 
persons, though really distinct, are united in one and the 
same essence. 



452 



ALETHAUEION. 



The lowest is met with in hell, where division, false- 
hood and malice, among the demons, take the place of 
unity, truth, and goodness, which should be found in every 
society. 

Societies among men may be divided into two great 
classes, the one temporal, the other spiritual. The object of 
the former is to provide for the welfare of the body, the 
latter is charged with the care of the soul. 

And as the body and soul are united, so should these be* 
The soul, which is the more noble of man's constituent 
parts, directs and rules the body. Thus also, the spiritual, 
which is the higher principle, is destined, in the order of 
Providence, to shape the course and acts of the temporal. 

When there is an entire separation, the temporal goes to 
the grave, to rot, while the spiritual returns to God. 

From a consideration of these truths, of which we have so 
good an illustration in our own persons, it will be seen that 
any society which eliminates the spiritual, can not hope to 
live and do good. 

In Adam, the father and head of the human race, both 
those elements were united. He was king, and therefore 
under an obligation to provide for the temporal welfare of 
that society of which he was the progenitor and ruler. He 
was also a high priest, burdened with the care of leading the 
members to happiness in the future life. 

In his two-fold character of king and priest, he could 
permit nothing to be done, in the temporal order, that would 
interfere with the acquisition of spiritual blessings. His 
successors, the patriarchs, up to the time of Moses, were 
like uiito him in this particular. 

They were rulers of God's people, not only in a temporal 
sense, but high priests, at the same time. 

According as mankind increased in numbers, their interests 
or necessities, or, may be, the ambition of powerful leaders, 
induced them to separate into various tribes, each forming 
an independent people. 



ALETHAURION. 



453 



This was lawful ; for it nowhere appears from revelation 
that it was a part of the plan of the Almighty to establish 
on earth a universal temporal monarchy in the person of 
Adam or any of his descendants. 

But the same cannot be said of that spiritual monarchy 
of which Adam was also the representative. None were at 
liberty to refuse direction from him, or from his successors 
in the patriarchal chair. And the fact that many did so, 
eliminating altogether the spiritual element, or subjecting it 
to the temporal, was what brought on the deluge. 

The reader will gather from this, that from the beginning 
of the world, true religion has had a unity, and a right to 
restrain man from such a pursuit of temporal happiness, as 
would lead him astray, or make him unfit to be an heir to 
heavenly bliss. 

Down to the time of Moses, the temporal and spiritual 
direction of God's people was vested in the same person. 
He, by divine command, gave a development to the patri- 
archal religion, founding thereby the Jewish Church or Syn- 
agogue. By miracles and holiness of life, he proved his 
right to do this. 

To his brother Aaron, he entrusted all that appertained 
to the worship of God, while he still retained in his own 
hands the right to guide the nation. 

The division here made was not perfect nor entire. For 
Aaron and the Levites did not form a society independent 
of Moses. Nor was it until our Saviour came that the tem- 
poral and spiritual elements were completely separated ; 
each forming an autonomous society independent within its 
sphere. 

Christ left the temporal kingdom where He found it and 
where it had been since Adam ; but the spiritual He still 
further developed, changing its internal organization and 
giving it, not alone autonomy in the highest sense, but also 
the right and the duty to direct temporal kingdoms ; so that 



454 



ALETHAURION. 



their acts may be conducive to the salvation of their peo- 
ple, 

" Going forth," said he to the Apostles, "teach all nations" — kingdoms 
if you wish — "teach them to observe all thing whatsoever I have com- 
manded you." Matt, xxviii, 19-20. 

Hence, the idea sometimes expressed by thoughtless peo- 
ple, that the State is entirely independent of the Church is 
false. As well might one say that the body is independent 
of, or ought to rule the soul. 

Now, as between the body and soul, there is a never-ceas- 
ing warfare ; the body seeking that which gives temporal 
ease and satisfaction, the soul aspiring to heavenly joys, so, 
between the Church of Christ and the State there will be 
that same kind of war so long as the world lasts. 

"I see," says St. Paul, "another law in my members, fighting against 
the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my 
members." Romans vii, 23. 

But, as he approaches nearest to perfection whose carnal 
appetites are subject to the law of his mind, so also is that 
temporal kingdom most complete, which, while neglecting 
nothing conducive to the comfort and happiness of its citi- 
zens, is yet directed by that other and superior spiritual 
kingdom, namely, the Church of Christ. 

From what has thus far been said, it will be observed that 
we have in the world, two, and only two, organizations of 
divine institution, viz : the Church and the State. 

The Church has unity in a most perfect degree, so that it 
can never be divided, any more than the soul can, and it de- 
pends upon God alone, who has made it indefectible and 
infallible. 

States, taken collectively, have not unity, except in the 
Church, which is to them a cap or complement. Taken 
singly, each has unity and independence, but not to such an 
extent as to be at liberty to resist the law of the mind, which 
is that of the Church. 

We may now descend to the consideration of societies 
properly so called, i. e., to those which do not pretend .to 



ALETHAUKION. 



455- 



be of divine institution, nor sovereign, in the strict sense. 
These also may be divided into two classes — illegitimate 
and legitimate. An illegitimate society is one that either 
directly or indirectly aims at the overthrow of the State or 
the Church, or cramps the free and lawful action of either. 

Hence, in temporal matters, all organizations gotten up 
for the purpose of eluding the law, or interfering with its 
proper execution, are illegitimate. 

Trades-unions, in which mechanics or laborers bind them- 
selves by oath to resist, by violence, State or municipal 
laws, guaranteeing to the employers certain rights, are of 
this class. 

Men engaged in any legitimate calling, have certainly the 
right to form themselves into a society for mutual protec- 
tion, and even to strike for higher wages, where no previous 
contract obliges them to continue working for the same hire. 
The State tacitly concedes such a right to the employed. 
But the employer has rights also, and he cannot lawfully be 
prevented by force or intimidation from employing others 
to take the places of those who do not choose to work. 
Much less can those others be killed or maimed for accepting 
such employment. 

All secret, oath-bound societies, even those that may have 
a patent from the State, are illegitimate, so far as baptized 
persons are concerned. This is so, not by reason of the oat7i r 
nor of the secrecy enjoined upon the members, but because 
of a positive law of the Church. That a dozen or more men 
should bind themselves by a vow or solemn promise to do 
something, not otherwise unlawful, is not of itself bad. 
But long experience, under existing circumstances, has 
taught the Church that such organizations are dangerous,, 
and become the occasions of sin, even apostacy, to those 
who enter them. Hence the protest, and the command, 
to beware of those evil associations which corrupt good, 
maimers. 

To the same illegitimate category belong all heresies,, 



456 



ALETHAURION. 



schisms, and other organizations that pretend to lead men 
to the final destiny, but which do not acknowledge the 
authority of the true Church. 

These are in the worst condition of all, for they do not 
pretend to hold their right to exist by temporal or State 
authority, and they certainly do not live by the authority of 
the Church. 

From whence, then, their raison d'etre? 

Legitimate societies are all those expressly or tacitly 
approved by the Church ; such, for example, are the monastic 
orders, sodalities, and benevolent societies among Catholics ; 
as well as all sorts of corporations for purely temporal ends, 
and approved by the State. 

In our next we continue the history of St. Paul. 



CHAPTER CVIL 



ST. PAUL LEAVES EPHESUS VISITS THE CHURCHES OF 

MACEDONIA AND GREECE RETURNS TO ASIA MINOR 

GIVES A PARTING ADVICE AND BLESSING TO THE CLERGY 
OF EPHESUS. 

After the silversmith tumult had been suppressed, Paul 
again passed through Macedonia and Greece, and, coming 
back, stayed a short time at Miletus. This city stood about 
thirty-eight miles south of Ephesus. 

Desiring to be at Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost, 
he did not visit Ephesus, but sent word to its bishops to 
come to him, that he might give some final advice and 
instructions. 

On arrival, he called them together, and explained how he 
had delivered to them the entire gospel. He exhorts them 
to take heed to themselves, and to all the flock, over which 
the Holy Ghost had placed them as bishops, to rule the 
Church of God. Let the reader take note of the system 



ALETHAURION. 



457 



and plan of salvation introduced by the Saviour, and carried 
out by the Apostles. Christ wrote nothing. For about 
three years He taught His Apostles and others , orally. Before 
the ascension He commissions, not all mankind, but the 
Apostles, to preach to the nations what they had heard from 
himself. The example set, and the instructions given with 
regard to the mode of planting the Church, we find to have 
been carried out by the twelve, to the letter. 

St. Paul and the other Apostles began in each place first 
to teach by word of mouth, in order to draw the Jews and 
pagans to belief in Christ. But this done, their work was 
not yet finished. They were commissioned to not alone 
teach mankind certain moral and doctrinal truths, such as 
even the pagan philosophers had done ; but they were 
moreover ordained to enlarge that Kingdom already founded 
by the Saviour. Hence the gospel preached by the Apos- 
tles was the 44 Gospel of the Kingdom." Matt, iv, 23; 
ix, 35. 

This required that they should establish in each place 
such organizations as is found in every kingdom. 

Consequently we see that Paul placed over each of the 
churches that he had established, bishops who should con- 
tinue after he was gone, not only to teach, but with power 
also to select others, and ordain them ministers of the 
kingdom, as thev themselves had been chosen and ordained 
by the Apostle. " As the Father hath sent Me, so also I 
send you," said Christ to the twelve. Now Christ was 
sent by the Father with power to teach, and authority to 
appoint others to continue what he had begun ; and the 
same may also be said of the Apostles. 

Just at this point there arises before the mind's eye a 
pertinent question. Since, as we have seen Paul, and the 
others also, established in each town a living, teaching 
authority, empowered by the Holy Ghost to rule the Church 
of God, at what period, we ask, did it become lawful for 
^n individual member to ignore that authority, and be 



458 



ALETHAURION. 



guided in his belief and practice by a book? In other 
-words, at what exact time did the obligation of hearing the 
Church cease to have binding force ? Let those who have 
left us arise and explain, for it concerns them. When did 
the Church cease to be what St. Paul said it was : " The 
pillar and ground of truth?" I Tim. iii, 15. 

If they say the obligation of being guided by a living, 
teaching Church, ceased with the death of the Apostles, 
then we ask, how could St. Paul have told the converted 
Jews, 64 Obey your prelates, and be subject to them ; for 
they watch as being to render an account of your souls." 
Heb. xiii, 17. 

Or how could a prelate be held responsible for the soul 
of another, if that other is under no obligation to listen to 
or be guided by the prelate? 

Or how could St. Paul have told Timothy to commend 
to faithful men, who should be fit to teach others, what 
his disciple had learned before many witnesses, II Tim. ii, 
2, if each man could become his own teacher? 

The fact then that Paul commissioned some to rule and 
give instruction, implies the obligation on the part of others 
to learn of and to obey those in authority. 

Sectarians pretend to take the written word as their rule 
of faith,,and that alone shows they are not apostlic, for all 
the apostolic Churches had been founded before the various, 
books of the New Testament were written, and many years 
before they had been collected into one volume. 

The New Testament contains a part of the will of the 
Great King. And the fact that Christ made a will, implies 
a kingdom which ministers to execute it. Alexander 
made no will when dying, and why? Because he knew that 
his kingdom would end with himself, and a will under the 
circumstances would have been an absurdity. 

Baptized heretics hold copies, more or less genuine, of 
the Saviour's will, and are co-heirs with us, we grant ; but 
being in rebellion, they can never hope to gain their part of 



ALETHAUEION. 



459 



the inheritance, until they lay down their arms and acknowl- 
edge those who govern in the King's name. 

Now, as in temporal matters, the State interprets the law 
of the land, so is the Church constituted the interpreter of 
the law and will of her Founder. 

Here, also, we may take notice of an idea that preoccu- 
pies the minds of many deluded people in our day. To 
simplify we put it in the concrete. A dozen unbaptized 
farmers meet together ; they read the Bible, and, at the end 
of the day, each comes to the conclusion that it is an inspired 
book. They next organize, by electing three of their 
number to what they call the Eldership, and a fourth they 
employ to preach for them at a stated salary. This organi- 
zation they call a Church. Whose Church? Evidently the 
Church of those twelve farmers, because they first called it 
into existence. No, say they, it is not ours, but the Church 
of Jesus Christ ; for it is planned and built on the model 
of His. "But, my dear fellows," says a neighbor, 44 you 
make a great mistake, it appears to me. It is well known that 
the Church of Christ began to exist upwards of eighteen 
centuries ago, and, as His kingdom is an everlasting one, it 
must be in existence now ; and yours is certainly not it, for 
the simple reason that yours began yesterday, and cannot be 
traced back to the time Christ lived on earth. 

" Behold," said the angel to the Virgin Mary, thou shalt conceive in 
thy womb, and shalt bring forth a Son ; and thou shalt call 'his name 
Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High : 
and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David, His 
father; and He shall reign in the house of Jacob forever. And of His 
Kingdom (Church,,) there shall be no end." Luke i, 31-33. 

Similarity is not identity. Hence, though a dozen or more 

of you should organize a Church in every particular like the 

Church of Christ, it would still not be the one He founded, 

for the same reason that Smith's house is not Brown's, 

though built exactly like it, and according to the same 

specifications. So with your Church ; it is not that of 

Christ, but an imitation, and a bad one. Suppose fifty 



460 ALETHAURION. 

thousand American citizens should take the Constitution and 
organize by electing a President and two houses of Congress ; 
would that give them the right to call themselves the United 
States? Neither does your possession of the Scriptures 
give you a right to coin a new Church." So far the 
neighbor. 

In our next we will dwell a little longeron this subject. 



CHAPTER CVIII. 



MORE ABOUT THE CHURCH OF THE TWELVE FARMERS. 

The theory that appears to underlie the thoughts of nearly 
all Protestants on religious matters, appears to be, in sub- 
stance, as follows : 

They regard Christ as a man sent of' God to teach man- 
kind certain truths, and, in order the better to accomplish 
this, He chose twelve men, whom He first instructed, and 
then sent to preach to others all that had been confided to 
themselves. These, after the death of their Master, did as 
they were told, i. e., preached everywhere what they knew 
of Him, or had heard from His lips. But as the twelve 
were not to live always, they took care, before dying, 
to put in writing, for the guidance of future generations, all 
they had orally taught mankind; and the book thus left, 
now called the New Testament, constitutes the highest 
authority on all points of belief and practice. Furthermore, 
any one now may take the New Testament, study it for his 
own salvation, and teach its precepts to others, indepen- 
dently of Church authority. 

This, we believe, is a fair statement of the Protestant 
theory, put in as few words as the nature of the subject will 
permit. And it includes no less than four false assump- 
tions. 



ALETHAUKION. 



461 



First, It is false that the New Testament took the place 
of the Apostles. 

Second, It is not true that it contains all they taught 
mankind. 

Third, It is ridiculous to speak of the New Testament as 
authority in controverted matters. 

Fourth, It is not lawful for each and every one who has 
read the Scriptures, and thinks he understands them, to 
constitute himself a guide, and profess ability to lead others 
to heaven. 

Let us say a word or two about those several points : 

First, The New Testament did not take the place of the 
Apostles, for the simple reason that a book can by no fic- 
tion of law succeed to a man's position in a kingdom. Dis- 
raeli's Endymion will never be Victoria's Prime Minister, 
nor will Grant's Des Moines speech be President of the 
United States, as long as the world lasts. 

We hear it said, and we occasionally read in sectarian 
newspapers, that the Apostles had no successors. But, if a 
man who holds the same position, under the same constitu- 
tion, in the same kingdom that another once filled, be not 
the successor of that other, then we confess that succession 
in office is something totally beyond our comprehension. 

Now, we know that Paul founded the Church of Ephe- 
sus, and that while there he acted as the minister of Christ, 
and dispenser of the mysteries of God; and that his Disci- 
ple, Timothy, having later on been ordained bishop of the 
same city, continued to exercise, even after Paul's death, 
and by his express orders, those very same functions. Who 
then can deny that Timothy succeeded Paul at Ephesus ? 

So also Peter, the Prince of the Apostles, first estab- 
lished his See at Antioch, in Syria, and after seven years, 
by divine command, as is generally admitted, he took pos- 
session of Rome, ordaining or causing to be ordained a cer- 
tain Evodius, to his place in the Syrian capitol. Can it be 



462 



ALETHAURIOX. 



denied that Evodius was the successor of Peter in the epis- 
copate at Antiodi? There is, however, a sense according 
to which it can be said that the Apostles had no successor?. 
Each and every one of them had what is called an extraor- 
dinary mission ; i. e., they were sent directly by God ; and, 
as proof of this they had the gift of miracles. No bishop 
since the Apostles, pretends that his mission is such as theirs 
in this particular. They claim descent from the twelve, on 
the strength of that order which Christ established in His 
kingdom. Neither does any bishop claim a personal power 
to work miracles. The founder of a State has sometimes 
to perform great deeds in order to establish his throne. His 
son does not undergo the same fatigue, but simply proves 
his legitimate descent, and by that becomes heir to all his 
father gained by valor or genius. 

Now, there is not a Catholic bishop but can prove his de- 
scent from the Apostles, according to the order established 
by the Saviour in His Church. The essential laws of the 
kingdom of Christ, like those of nature never vary, except 
by miracle. And just as each man now living knows that 
he had here on earth five thousand years ago, an ancestor in 
direct line from whom he has descended, so each priest and 
bishop knows that the powers by which he is constituted a 
minister of Christ have come down from the Apostles. A 
real and true bishop, without a consecrator, would be as 
great a prodigy as a real and true man who never had a 
father. 

Again : There is another sense in which it can be said that 
no individual bishop except the Pope, is the successor of an 
Apostle. Each of the twelve, along with St. Paul, had 
conjointly with Peter, a universal jurisdiction ; i. e., had the 
right to preach the gospel, found churches and dispense the 
mysteries of religion in any part of the world. But at the 
present day, if we except the Bishop of Home, no prelate 
has universal jurisdiction, and consequently cannot be called 
a successor of the Apostles in that particular. The reason 



ALETHAURIOX. 



463 



is also quite obvious. The universal jurisdiction given to 
the other Apostles was extraordinary , and to last only dur- 
ing their lives. Hence, thev could not transmit to their 
successors what they held themselves by life lease only. 
But the jurisdiction given to Peter was ordinary, and con- 
sequently descended whole and entire to his successor. 

In the matter of jurisdiction, the bishops, taken as a body, 
with the Pope at their head, are the successors of the Apos- 
tles, taken as a body. Individually, no bishop except one 
has a jurisdiction outside his own diocese ; and so far, they 
are unlike the Apostles. Though Timothy, at Ephesus, and 
Titus, in Crete, succeeded to Paul as ministers, yet each 
was obliged to stay at his particular post until relieved by 
death or by apostolic authority. 

Again: The Apostles were all inspired, and in this too 
they are alone and without regular succession. Infallibility 
is not inspiration, but a continuance of the Saviour with His 
Church, through its head. He being present, the chief 
bishop cannot err in matters appertaining to faith and 
morals. By inspiration the Apostles planned the way ; by 
infallibility the Pope is kept from straying out of it. 

From all that has thus far been said, the reader will 
easily gather that the Pope and bishops of the Catholic 
Church are the successors of the Apostles in essentials. The 
accidentals, such as inspiration, universal jurisdiction of 
more than one and the personal gift of miracles, were extra- 
ordinary and temporary. 

The succession of the bishops of Eome, from Peter, is a 
fact of history so well known that it has always been a won- 
der to the writer how any heretic could run his eye up along 
the line from Leo XIII to Simon Peter, and still remain 
outside the true Church. 

In our next we will show that the New Testament does 
-not contain all the Apostles taught mankind. 



464 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER CIX. 



EACH APOSTLE PEEACHED A GREATER NUMBER OF SPECIFIC 
TRUTHS THAN HE COMMITTED TO WRITING. 

Sectarians of almost every shade deny that the Saviour 
revealed anything to the Apostles, as necessary for salvation 
beyond what we find in the scriptures. We Catholics hold 
that though the twelve preached the entire gospel, they did 
?ot commit it all to writing. Hence we maintain that the 
deposit of faith is to be found, not alone in the written 
Word, but also in the divine traditions of the Church. This 
point we prove by the scriptures themselves, i. e., we show 
by what the Apostles and evangelists wrote, that there were 
other truths of the faith which they indeed preached, but 
did not put on parchment. 

Opening the New Testament at Thessalonians, second 

Epistle, ii, 14, we read. 

"Therefore, brethren, stand firm, and hold the traditions which you 
have learned, whether by word or by our epistle/' 

Now bear in mind that Paul had already written one let- 
'ter to those Thessalonians, and writing a second time, he 
tells them to believe and hold as certain all he had written 
in the first, and not alone that, but what they had heard 
from his own mouth,?*, e., they must believe and firmly 
hold what he had said and not written. It is furthermore 
evident that what Paul had communicated to them orally 
was of importance, for he tells them to stand firm, and to 
hold it, as part of revelation, evidently. 

Can it then be denied, after reading so plain a text, that 
Paul taught the Thessalonians more than is to be found in 
his letters to them. 

Let us take another text. In I Cor. ii, 2, we read : " Now 
I praise you, brethren, that in all things you are mindful of 



ALETIIAUniOX. 



465 



me, and keep my ordinances as I delivered them to you." 
Bear in mind that these words are found in the first epistle 
to the Corinthians. Now it is evident that the ordinances 
spoken of, which Paul delivered by word of mouth, are not 
the same as those in his letter, for he praises them for hav- 
ing kept the first. Hence there was no need to more than 
allude to them in his epistle. The Corinthians knew what 
Paul meant, though only a hint was given. 

Again : In I Tim. vi, 20, we read : " O Timothy, keep 
that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding the profane 
novelty of words and oppositions of knowledge falsely so 
called." Here Paul warns his disciple to keep safe what 
was intrusted to him, i. e., all the truths of the faith and 
the methods to be observed in the practice of it. Now who 
will be so ridiculous as to affirm that the entire gospel is 
contained in Paul's first epistle to Timothy? It is evident, 
therefore, that Paul taught Timothy more than is to be 
found in his letters to his well-beloved disciple. 

Again: In II Tim. i, 13, he says: * 6 Hold the form of 
sound words, which thou hast heard from me in faith, and 
in. the love which is in Christ Jesus." Observe here that 
the " form of sound words" is not the epistle written to 
Timothy, but Paul's oral instructions. In chapter ii, 2, of 
the same letter, Paul warns him, saying: 44 And the things 
which thou hast heard from me, before many witnesses, the 
same commend to faithful men, who shall be fit to teach 
others also." 

He instructs Timothy to teach others — teach what? Was 
it the substance of the written epistle? Evidently not. It 
was what Timothy had learned " before many witnesses," 
i.e., the oral teaching of St. Paul, which embraces the 
entire gospel. Paul does not say: Keep this epistle I now 
send you and also the one I wrote on a former occasion. He 
does not tell him to write to the Corinthians, to the Philip- 
pians, to the Gala tians, for copies of the letters sent them. 
He does not say to him that he must collect all the writings 



466 



ALETIIAURIOX. 



of the Apostles and transmit these to His successors. No, 
Timothy was to teach what Paul had already taught him 
orally. 

How then stands the case ? Here we have Timothy, Bishop 
of Ephesus, as also his successors for a number of years, 
teaching the entire gospel, and the only scriptures in their 
possession, most likely, were the books of the Old Testa- 
ment and three epistles of St. Paul. 

What we say here of the Church of Ephesus, may be re- 
peated of those of Corinth, Athens, Crete, Philippi, and 
others. Not one of them had the entire written word, such 
as we now possess it. For it was not until many years had 
passed, after the death of the Apostles, that what they had 
written was collected into one volume. 

If the ministers of those primitive Churches had not had 
an oral teaching, we would not at present have, in the first 
place, anew Testament at all, and in the second, no mortal 
man would be able to pick that sense out of it which the 
Apostles and evangelists desired to convey. 

Let us take another text. In Hebrews vi, 1-3, Paul tells 
the Jews that he does not wish to speak to them of penance, 
of dead works, of faith in God, of the different kinds of 
baptism, of the imposition of hands, of the resurrection of 
the dead, and life eternal, but that he would do so, God 
permitting. 

We do not see that Paul has treated all these things in 
liis letters. It remains, therefore, that we hold such things 
to have been taught the Jews orally only. Add to all this, 
that of the twelve Apostles, seven wrote not a line. 

How did the Churches founded by these seven get along 
without the written word ? They had the Apostles with them, 
says some one, and that of course sufficed. Very well, say 
we also ; during the lifetime of those first bishops of the 
Church they had competent, inspired teachers, we grant. 

But from the death of St. Axdrew t , for example, to the 
time when the scriptures were all collected into one volume, 



ALETH AURION . 



467 



and its books recognized as inspired, by public authority, 
what did the Churches founded by him do? 

The Bible man answers, they had to do the best they 
could. 

We reply : St. Andrew, and those other six who wrote 
nothing, explained the doctrines of Christ orally to faithful 
men, and these in turn taught others, and ordained minis- 
ters, as they had themselves been ordained and authorized 
to teach by the Apostles. 

And thus the truth was preserved and the entire gospel 
preached in those Churches, the members of which never 
saw the New Testament, nor the Old one. 

Again : St. Paul wrote fourteen epistles ; no sectarian 
will dare affirm that these contain the entire gospel ; for there 
are some things in the other inspired writings not found in 
them. 

What follows? That Paul did not write down all he 
preached. And what is said here of Paul may be repeated 
of each and every one of the evangelists. None of them 
left in writing all they taught the people orally. 

Our next will be a continuation of this subject, for it is 
an important one. 



CHAPTER CX. 



the written word alone is not a sufficient guide to 
lead one to heaven. 

In the last chapter we saw that each Apostle preached 
more truths than he wrote. This no sectarian will or can 
deny. It is too plain a case. 

But they try to get out of the difficulty by saying that, 
though no one of the Apostles or evangelists wrote the entire 
gospel, yet the New Testament contains the united teachings 
of all ; so that what Matthew omitted was supplied by Mark, 



468 



ALETHAURION. 



what Mark omitted was supplied by Luke, what Luke 

omitted was supplied by Peter, Paul and Jude ; and 

finally, what all these had omitted was supplied by John, 

who wrote his gospel and revelations on towards the close 

of the first century. 

This is the theory that appears to be afloat in the mind 

of almost, if not every Protestant. And it is perfectly 

gratuitous. Now it is a principal in logic, that, what is 

asserted without proof may also be denied without proof. 

Hence, after having shown that each evangelist, singly, 

wrote less than he preached ; after pointing out what St. 

John says, xxi, 25 : 

"But there are also many other things which Jesus did; which if they 
were written every one, the world itself, I think, would not be able to 
contain the books that should be written." 

When we have called attention to the fact that Christ 
never commanded the Apostles to write at all ; we can say 
with great peace of mind to our dissenting brethren, prove 
your point. Prove that the written word contains all that 
Christ taught. 

You, who are but a small minority, must not take for 
granted what three-fourths of all who believe in Christ 
deny. The burden of proof in the case lies altogether with 
you heretics, and for at least two reasons. 

The Catholic Church, before and at the time of your sep- 
aration from it, held that the Apostles preached more than 
they wrote. Rome was in possession ; it was your duty to 
prove her wrong, but to this day you have not done so. 

Secondly, How in reason can you maintain that the writ- 
ten word includes the entire gospel, when it nowhere 
affirms such of itself. Can you show that there was an 
understanding between those who wrote that what this one 
omitted the other should supply? You cannot. On the 
contrary, there is abundant evidence to demonstrate that 
there was no such an agreement made. The four gospels 



ALETHAURION. 



469 



give us, in a variety of instances, the very same facts 
related in different words. 

The book called the Acts of the Apostles is certainly not 
the result of a consultation among the twelve, for it treats 
principally of the labors of St. Paul, of whom its author, 
Luke, was a disciple and follower. 

If it had been intended as a history of the Church, we 
would therein have registered what the other Apostles 
also did. 

The Epistles of Sts. Peter, Paul, Jude and John, are 
nothing more nor less than pastoral letters of those first 
bishops of the Church, bringing into relief certain truths of 
the faith, and warning the people against evils that existed 
in those days. 

Now we know that a pastoral letter may be most excel- 
lent, and yet contain only a small number of the truths 
taught by the Saviour. Leo XIII, when Bishop of Perugia, 
wrote several such, which have since been collected and 
published in one volume. They are good reading. 

But no Catholic, for a moment, regards them as a full 
and complete exposition of our holy religion. They pre- 
suppose the faith already preached among the people to 
whom they are addressed, and an allusion only is made, in 
many places where a full explanation would be in order if 
they were intended to be exhaustive doctrinal treatises. 

It is thus, also, with the letters written by the Apostles. 
They would be enigmas to the public without preparatory 
religious instructions. The scriptures are in a peculiar 
manner the property of the Church. 

They were written by believers for believers, and there is 
no evidence to show that the Saviour ever intended that the 
written word should be put into the hands of Pagans. Indeed 
it is not at all likely that a Pagan would derive the least 
spiritual profit from reading even the New Testament. 
Some previous training would surely be required. 

And this has been the plan of the Catholic Church from 



470 



ALETHAURION. 



the commencement. She does not put the scriptures into 
the hands of the people until such time as they would be 
likely to profit by the reading of them. 

Let us here take a rapid survey of the methods used by 
the Catholic missionary, and the sectarian minister, respec- 
tively, in dealing with Pagans. 

We have as yet, in the far west, some tribes, and frag- 
ments of others, to whom this country originally belonged. 
They got lead in exchange for a part of their lands, and fire- 
water, with a few blankets, and some damaged provisions, 
for the rest. 

In a word, they have been cheated, robbed, and then shot 
down and murdered, for daring to complain or assert their 
manhood. The writer does not hold the civil government 
entirely responsible for such iniquity. 

It began and was fully developed before our existence as 
a nation ; for true religion was not on hand to restrain what 
human passion suggested. The civil government of these 
States has ever shown a desire to treat the Indian fairly and 
humanely ; but the spirit of heresy has as often stepped in,, 
to neutralize its good intentions. 

Years ago, when a school boy, we read in histories intended 
for children, a good deal about the cruelties of Cortez, in 
Mexico, and of Pizarro, in Peru. The historian appeared 
to have had only one object in view, which was to show how 
unjust and tyrannical the agents of the so-called Catholic 
government could be. 

We do not here undertake to write an apology for any 
one, whether Catholic or heretic, who - does iniquity. The 
name of Catholic will not save him if he be guilty. 

But, not to be ponderous, we simply ask, how does it 
happen that, notwithstanding all that has been said about 
those two Spanish worthies, there are Indians in Mexico and 
Peru yet and none here? No argument can upset a fact. 

The Spanish conquerors may have, in some instances, 
done wrong ; no doubt they did, for they w 7 ere men of the 



ALETHAURION. 



471 



sword, with many temptations in their way. But the 
Catholic Church, to which they belonged, stepped in and 
healed, as far as possible, the wounds which human passion 
had inflicted. 

Its action saved the conquered Indian tribes from exter- 
mination, and, for the sovereignty which they had lost, it 
gave them the faith, and that peace which the world cannot 
give. This accounts for the existence of Indians in Mexico 
and South America. 

But how did the Catholic Church effect what we are 
speaking of? It was in this way: She sent priests among 
those people who taught them the truths of Christianity, 
gained their confidence, and never forfeited it by unjust 
dealing. Those priests established schools for the childrea 
and taught their parents the rudiments of civilization. 

In this way, those tribes were brought within the pale of 
the Church, where they, or rather their descendants, remain 
to this hour, cultivating a soil inherited from their fore- 
fathers, and living, with few exception, the lives of 
Christian men. 

The Catholic Church did not send colporteurs into Mexico 
to sling bibles at the Aztecs, and then drive them out of their 
own country for not being able to read and understand them. 

She took a different plan, and the result shows that she 
alone civilizes the savage ; and, from a Pagan, makes a* 
Christian of him. The very same thing would have been 
done in this country, if the Church had been given free 
action. 

The Indians would have been civilized and Christianized 
without the Bible and without battles, and, at this day, would 
be numerous, prosperous, peaceable and happy, instead of 
being as they are, reduced to a mere handful of wretched 
starving hostiles. 

And if those blatant bushwhacking preachers, that in early^ 
days went trotting through this State, with the Bible in one 
saddle-pocket, and the Lord knows what not in the other, 



472 



ALETHAURION. 



44 foaming out of their own confusion," had taught a religion 
of love instead of hate, we would now have more Indians 
and less bigotry. 

To return again to the point : What in the name of com- 
mon sense can an Indian or any savage do with the Bible? 

Heretics themselves, who pretend to learning and civiliza- 
tion, wrangle over its meaning, and do they expect savages 
to take in the whole thing as by inspiration? 

Give the Bible to a Chinese mandarin who never had any 
experience among Christians, and, far from being able to 
learn in its fulness, that system of religion which Christ 
taught, the volume would be to him as absurd as the book 
of Mormon is to us. 

If the Bible contains all that Christ revealed, and is so 
plain that it may be understood by each one, as the heretics 
say it is, why don't they all agree? What warrant have 
they for keeping the first day of the week holy instead of the 
seventh, as God commanded should be done. 

From these various considerations it will appear that the 
written word is not, of itself, a sufficient guide to lead men 
to heaven. It needs the light of divine tradition, without 
w^hich it certainly is a dangerous volume for any one to 
handle. 

The Apostles, and evangelists wrote the New Testament. 
Its full meaning they taught orally ; and this apostolic 
interpretation has been handed down, in the faith and prac- 
tice of the Roman Church, from their day to our own. 

In the next we will consider the question whether a man 
who has read the Bible, and thinks he understands it, has a 
right to constitute himself a guide, and profess ability to 
lead and direct others to heaven. 



ALETHAURION, 



473 



CHAPTER CXI. 



"WHETHER ANY ONE WHO HAS READ THE BIBLE AND THINKS 
HE UNDERSTANDS IT CAN LAWFULLY PROFESS HIMSELF A 
MINISTER OF CHRIST AND A DISPENSER OF THE MYSTER- 
IES OF GOD. 

From the beginning of the world, to the time of Moses, 
each head of a family that worshiped the true God, had the 
right to offer sacrifice and to teach his children with author- 
ity, such truths as had been revealed either immediately to 
himself, or had come to his knowledge by tradition. 

But, after Moses had lead the chosen people out of Egypt 
he, by Divine, command, restricted the right of offering sac- 
rifice to Aaron and his posterity, who, assisted by the other 
members of the tribe of Levi, were henceforth to have the 
exclusive right of directing and managing all matters apper- 
taining to the worship of God. 

This restriction was not pleasing in the eyes of Core, 
Dathan and Abiron, three influential and envious men of 
that day. These regarded the innovation in favor of Aaron 
and his children as something not to be tolerated at all. 

So upon their own authority, they, with their adherents, 
concluded to worship God as they saw fit ; Moses and his 
brother Aaron to the contrary, notwithstanding. We are 
all good enough to be priests, said they, in substance, and 
why do you two, Moses and Aaron, lift yourselves above 
the people of the Lord ? 

But God, on that occasion, taught those wicked men 
that it is His prerogative to choose out from among men those 
by whom He wishes to be served in His sanctuary ; for the 
earth opened and swallowed them down alive into hell. 
.K umbers xvi. 



474 



ALE TH AUPi I O X . 



From all of which it appears that, among the Jews, dur- 
ing, and from the time of Moses, it was not lawful for each 
one who thought he understood the business to arrogate to- 
himself the title and privileges of a minister of God. 

When Christ came into the world, He abolished the 
Aaronic priesthood. And, though we have Jews yet, they 
have no longer a sacrifice, for the descendants of Aaron 
cannot now be distinguished from the common herd. 

In a word, there is not a Jew living that knows to what 
tribe he belongs. From the days of Jacob to the destruc- 
tion of their city, each Hebrew family knew from which one 
of his sojis it had drawn its origin, for genealogical tables 
were kept in every house with the greatest care. 

But, because those tablets have for ages been lost, it so 
happens, that the pedigree of a modern Jew is as perplexed. 
as that of the average Gentile. 

The Jewish Church and sacrifice having ceased, let us- 
next inquire whether, in the New Dispensation, there be a 
body of men corresponding to Aaron and the Levites, or 
whether, as in patriarchal times each one who wishes to 
ministeV in the holy place is at liberty to do so without a 
vocation. 

That there is a distinction in the Church of Christ, analo- 
gous to that in synagogues which preceded it, may be 
proved in two ways. 

First of all we have occular demonstration of the fact in. 
the Catholic Church, which goes back year after year and 
century after century to the time when Christ lived upon 
this earth. 

The mysteries of God are dispensed only by a set of men 
specially set apart for that purpose, and comprised in three 
grades or classes, viz : Bishops, priests and deacons. 

Beginning with this nineteenth century, and sailing up the 
stream of time, we find them in every age, now administer- 
ing the sacraments, now preaching the gospel ; reo;ardin£ 
themselves and regarded by the people, as a distinct class. 



ALETHAUEION. 



475 



History fixes no period subsequent to the time of the 
Apostles, when the distinction we speak of began ; and it 
even forbids us to entertain, for one moment, the theory 
that it was not so from the beginning. 

Here then, we have a public fact ; we have in the Church, 
which Christ founded, a hierarchy claiming exclusive right 
to dispense the mysteries of God, and having that claim 
allowed without a dissenting voice in the whole Church. 
There must be some cause to account for it, and we confi- 
dently affirm, without fear of successful contradiction, that 
none can be found until one goes back to Jesus of Nazareth. 

The conclusion, therefore, is that Christ set apart some 
in His Church to direct * and control in spiritual matters. 
This same truth will also appear, no less clearly to the mind 
if we take up the New Testament, even as a history, and 
examine its pages. 

We learn from three of the gospels that Christ, on the 
night before His crucifixion, while seated with His Apostles 
at table in an upper chamber of a house in Jerusalem, 
took bread, which he gave them with the words : "Take 
and eat, this is my body." In like manner the wine, saying : 
" Drink ye all, this is my blood ; do this in commemoration 
of Me." Christ on that occasion offered a sacrifice, in 
accordance with the words of holy David, speaking of the 
future Messiah : "The Lord hath sworn, and it shall not 
repent Him ; thou art a priest forever according to the 
order of Melchisedec." Ps. 109. He empowered and 
commanded the twelve Apostles, only to do what He had 
done. Let it be remembered that Christ had, at the same 
time, seventy-two disciples ; yet, as neither they nor His 
Blessed Mother were present on the occasion, neither 
received the powers given to the twelve. 

Again: To the Apostles alone, He said: "Receive }^e 
the Holy Ghost ; whose sins you shall forgive, they are for- 
given ; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." 
And before ascending to the Father, He said to them and 



47(3 



ALETHAURION. 



to their successors, alone : "All power is given to Me in 
heaven and on earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all 
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe 
all things whatsoever I have commanded you ; and behold, 
I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the 
w T orld." Matth. xxviii. 

Here, in those texts already given, and in others which 
could be adduced, we see a distinction made between the 
Apostles and the other followers of Christ ; the very same that 
is observed at this day in the Catholic Church, between the 
clergy and the laity. The Apostles themselves, true to the 
instructions they had received from the Saviour, taught the 
people everywhere, to make the same distinction. 

" Let a man so regard .us," says St. Paul, " as the min- 
isters of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God." 
I Cor. iv. " Neither doth any man take the honor to him- 
self, but he thatiscalled by God, as Aaron was." Heb. v, 4. 
The latter is a very important text, and should be well 
studied. Paul maintains that before one run the risk of 
calling himself a priest, or a minister of the gospel, he should 
have a vocation, i. e., be called, either by God Himself 
directly, or by some one who has authority. Though Aaron 
had a divine vocation, yet it was Moses that authorized him 
to act. 

Again, says the Apostle : " How can they preach unless 
thev be sent?" Eom. x, 15. All these texts go to show 
that, as now, there was also in the days of the Apostles a 
clergy and a laity in the Church. 

The Apostle asks : " How can they preach unless they 
be sent?" St. Paul is here somewhat old-fashioned in his 
language ; and most likely, when that new translation of 
the Bible comes out, to take the place of King James' ver- 
sion, the passage will read : " How can they preach unless 
they have a call." Sectarians, in speaking of their preach- 
ing brethren, always carefully avoid the use of the word 



ALETHAURION. 



477 



sent, which implies an authority in the Church. A man 
who is not sent has evidently no right to preach, according 
to the Scriptures. Sectarianism is weak on that point, and 
feels it. W»ho sent Luthee? Who sent Calvin? Who 
sent Wesley ? Who sent Campbell ? Who sent Sweden- 
borg? Were they sent by God directly, or were they sent 
by some authority here on earth ? If by God directly, tell 
us what miracles did they perform, in proof of their extra- 
ordinary mission. If by an earthly authority, tell us its 
name. 

None of these heresiarchs were sent to preach by the Cath- 
olic Church : and they could not have been sent by those con- 
venticles which they themselves founded, for a being must 
exist before it can act. Hence, outside of the Catholic Church, 
there can be no such thing as a mission. For if one goes 
back far enough into the history of any sectarian conventicle 
he will find that it was first organized by somebody who was 
not himself sent, and, as a consequence, had no right ,nor 
authority to send others. 

Sectarians forget that the Church of Christ is a king- 
dom, with all the machinery of government. And, just as 
the writer of this, though a citizen of the United States, is 
not entitled to handle the mails that come to this point, 
without the authority of the President, so neither can a 
simple member of the Church of Christ act in an official 
capacity, without the authorization of Christ's vicar on 
earth. 

So far we have considered some things a member of the 
laity cannot lawfully do. 



478 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER CXII. 



SOME SPECULATIONS REGARDING THE EXTENT TO WHICH A 
LAYMAN IS A MINISTER OF CHRIST AND DISPENSER OF 
THE MYSTERIES OF GOD. 

In the last chapter we spoke of the distinction made by 
the Saviour between the Apostles and those others who 
Relieved in them. To the former He gave all power and 
authority in His Church, and, upon the latter, He imposed 
the obligation of obedience. The Apostles represented the 
hierarchy, or teaching and governing part of the Church. 
This was organized, with Peter at its head, before Pente- 
cost, the day on which the ship was formally set afloat. 
The captain and crew were already on board, at their posts, 
and only awaited passengers ; three thousand of whom 
entered their names on the date aforesaid. 

We may here lay it down as a principle, that all ordinary 
power in the Church was given to the Apostles alone. To 
them only it was said : "As the Father hath sent Me, so 
also I send you," ''going forth, teach all nations . . . 
teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you." Extraordinary powers, such as the gift of 
miracles, prophecy, etc., were given, and still are, to others. 
The ordinary powers are three in number, viz: authority to 
preach the Gospel, to administer the Sacraments, and to 
govern the Church. 

We may now inquire whether, in the first place, the twelve 
had a right to delegate the power received ; and in the 
second, to what extent such was actually done. The first ques- 
tion is one easily solved. " As the Father hath sent Me," 
said Christ to them, " so also, I send you." Christ could 
delegate His power ; therefore the same is true of the Apos- 
tles. But the extent to which it was actually done, can be 



ALETHAUEION. 



479 



learned only in one way, viz : by a study of the faith and 
practice of the Roman Church. That faith and prac- 
tice teaches, that they transmitted to bishops all the 
ordinary powers received from Christ. To priests, as part 
of an undivided whole, they gave power to preach the gos- 
pel, to administer all the sacraments except one (orders), 
and to rule and direct a portion of God's people. To dea- 
cons they gave the right to serve the priest or bishop at the 
altar, to distribute the bread of life to the people, to have 
care of temporalities, and to preach the gospel. To all 
mankind, without exception, to the end of time, the Apos- 
tles gave the power to administer, validly, the sacrament of 
Baptism, and, when baptized, that of Matrimony. 

As the reader will observe, we have here called attention 
to first principles only ; which must be taken in connection 
with that principle of authority, which runs through the 
entire Church. The Apostles gave no bishop the right to 
minister, as* independent of the Pope ; they gave to no 
presbyter or deacon, immunity from episcopal supervision, 
they gave to no one of the laity a right to ignore his imme- 
diate pastor. 

As regards the governing power in the Church, it may be 
well to bear in mind, that the Apostles reserved that in toto 
to the hierarchy, composed of bishops, priests and deacons. 
Hence, those lay trustees that are to be found in some par- 
ishes, who arrogantly assume to themselves the right to 
direct and control, on the ground that priests know nothing 
about financial matters, go beyond their powers. 

The priest, according to the apostolic plan, is to be the 
director, and his decision holds good until modified or 
reversed by superior authority. The right of appeal is how- 
ever, at all times to be cheerfully admitted. It is just and 
proper that the pastor should control, for churches are pri- 
marily, and we would even say solely, houses of prayer. 
They are built as aids to lead us to heaven. But when man- 
aged by a clique of worldty-minded men who have money 



480 



ALETHAURION. 



alone on the brain, a Christian Church may very easily 
become what the temple at Jerusalem was in our Saviour's 
time, viz : " A den of thieves." Matt, xxi, 13. 

Usury, with all its damnable concomitants, should be 
scourged forever from the house of God. 

Thus we have spoken of the prerogatives of the clergy, 
and the rights of the laity, so far as the government of the 
Church and the administration of the sacraments are con- 
cerned. Let us, in the next place, consider to whom and to 
what extent the Apostles transmitted the power to preach 
the gospel. 

Now, we believe that much confusion of thought may be 
avoided, and loads of learning saved by one simple distinc- 
tion. The Apostles transmitted to the hierarchy the power 
to preach the gospel, as a duty to be fulfilled. Others may 
use the sword of the spirit, but are not bound, as regularly 
enlisted soldiers. A command is given to the hierarchy, 
permission is granted to the laity. A special grace accom- 
panies the former, a rich reward goes . with the latter. 
Hence, each and every man living has the right to preach 
Catholic doctrine, " for it is good to hide the secret of a 
king, but honorable to reveal and confess the works of 
God," said Kapilel to Tobias, xii, 7. 

And should a lajmian desire to devote his energies to the 
spread of Catholic truth, the writer knows of no law to pre- 
vent him, so long as he teaches sound doctrine, and disturbs 
not the existing order in the Church. 

Thus far the theory. Practically, such a thing would not 
be desirable to any great extent. For, considering the weak- 
ness of human nature, unsustained by the grace which the 
Sacrament of Order gives, it would be more than likely that 
such Quixotic zeal would soon end in a fiasco. The present 
discipline of the Church on that point, is the result of cen- 
turies of experience, and the creature of a day should open 
the safety-valve of his conceit chamber before attempting 
an improvement. 



ALETHAURION. 



481 



As regards the dissemination of Catholic truth through 
newspapers, the case is different. The layman, whose zeal 
is directly through that channel, preserves intact his family 
and social relations. The propositions he puts forward may 
easily be examined, and their tone and drift maturely con- 
sidered by those whose duty it is to watch over the flock, 
and see that no poison, under the name of food, is smuggled 
into the fold. We do not wish to enter here into the rami- 
fications of positive law on the subject of printed publica- 
tions, on doctrinal themes. 

But we state it is as our opinion that the theory which 
would make the episcopal imprimatur a necessary preface 
to a Catholic journal, is unsound. 

It must never be forgotten that the Catholic Church 
is not a stranded vessel, but still afloat, and that its officers 
may take in or let out sail, as the needs of the hour 
may require. In a word, it must be borne in mind that in 
Rome there is not only a judicial but also a legislative 
authority. 

Hence, though one should grant, which need not, however, 
be done, that in past years, the imprimatur was necessary to 
a Catholic newspaper, in the light of recent acts and 
declarations of the chief bishop, it would no longer follow 
that such is now the case. 

But the right of the ordinary, to have supervision over a 
Catholic journal published in his diocese, no Catholic will 
deny. 

The injured party, however, in case of condemnation, may 
appeal to higher authority. But he should not bring his 
case into the Church before having had recourse to those 
other means mentioned in the gospel. 

In our next we return once more to the life and times of 
St. Paul. 



482 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER CXIII. 



ST. PAUL VISITS JERUSALEM FOR THE LAST TIME, IS ARRESTED 
BY THE JEWS, TRIED, AND SEXT FOR SAFE KEEPING TO 
OESAREA. 

After having preached the gospel and founded churches 
in Asia Minor, Syria, Macedonia, Greece and other parts, 
Paul returned to the Holy City, for the last time. 

On arrival he proceeded without delay to the house of 
St. James the Apostle, and bishop of Jerusalem. To him 
and to the ancients he " related particularly what things 
God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry." 
Acts xxi. 10. 

They were pleased at the recital, and glorified the Lord. 
But knowing the impetuous character of Paul, they counseled 
moderation and prudence, so as not to excite the fury 
of those Jews who lived in the city. 

He appears to have yielded to their suggestions, and, as 
his principal sin, in the estimation of his unconverted coun- 
trymen, consisted in not causing the law of Moses to be 
observed, he purified himself and others that were with him, 
in order to gain the good will of the unbelieving, or at 
least prevent their active opposition. 

The observance of the Mosaic law, was, of course, no 
longer obligatory, yet the early followers of the Saviour 
did not abandon it at once, partly from prudential motives, 
and partly in order to bury the synagogue with honor. 

But Paul's efforts to conciliate, went wide of the mark. 
His character for restless zeal in the cause of the Nazarene 
was too well known. 

And those Jews that had seen and heard him in Asia, 
were fully persuaded that the leopard would change his 



ALETHAURIOX. 



483 



spots and the Ethiopian his skin, before he would change 
his aggressive habits. 

Homer represents Hector as always either engaged in a 
battle or preparing for one ; and indeed, the same may be 
said of the Apostle of the Gentiles. He was never at rest, 
not even in prison, and possibly in his dreams he fought 
over again the battles of the Lord. His presence alone was 
a menace to falsehood, and it was so felt. 

Hence, one day as he was in the temple, not disputing 
or interfering with any one, some Asiatic Jews sat upon 
him, dragged him outside the door, and would have mur- 
dered him, had not the military tribune come to his rescue 
with a band of soldiers. 

The officer, without waiting to inquire who was to blame, 
seized on Paul, and having bound him with chains, took 
him off to prison. 

On the way, he asked permission to speak to the crowd 
which by this time was very large, and leave having been 
granted, he told the circumstances of his conversion. 

The Jews listened for a time ; but when he declared that 
God had destined him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, 
they could stand it no longer and cried him down. Some, 
in their fury, cast off their garments and threw dust in the 
air, like a herd of maddened cattle. 

Paul was next brought before the council, composed of 

the high-priest and chief men of the synagogue. But when 

he began to speak, the high-priest commanded one of the 

attendants to strike him on the mouth, which made the 

apostle call his loftiness a whited wall. 

"For sittest ,thou there to judge me according to the law," said he, 
" and contrary to the law commandest me to be struck.'' Acts xxiii, 3. 

From the glimpses we get, through the sacred writings, 
of Paul's personal character, he appears to us as a man of 
the finest sensibilities ; totally incapable of wantonly hurting 
the feelings of any one. 

But he did not respect iniquity in high places, nor make 



484 



ALETHAUEION. 



a drone of himself to avoid beinsr regarded bv his enemies 
as a dangerous opponent. The good and the truthful loved 
and admired him, but the wicked thought him arrogant, 
because he bore testimony against their meanness. 

True heroism is not spasmodic, but an abiding virtue of 
the mind, and Paul, yielding sometimes to the force of 
circumstances, but never abandoning through fear, a specific 
and grand design, is one of the highest types Qf a hero. 

Napoleon once said that you could never form a reliable 
judgment of an enemy's bravery, except when under fire. 
Probably the panic amongst his own men at Waterloo was 
what put the idea into his head. But he was correct. 

What the action of the multitude may be, must remain an 
unknown quantity until the day of trial comes. The reason 
is, because true heroism is as rare as true genius. It is the 
twin brother of sanctity, and has a very close resemblance 
to it. 

We may sometimes bet on a man, but to wager money on 
the multitude is to run the risk of losing it. 

The reader must not take what is here said as favoring the 
kingly form of government, which would be contrary to the 
writer's conscientious opinion. We believe in a republican 
form of State government. 

A heroic, wise and just king would certainly be a blessing 
to any country. But the main difficulty would be to find 
such a one, and to keep him from getting spoiled after dis- 
covery. Eepublics are the natural consequences of monarchi- 
cal failures. 

In the former, one party watches the other, and thievery 
is kept within bounds but to mistrust royalty, would be 
unprofitable, and dangerous withal. 

When Paul had been brought before the council, he ob- 
served that it was made up, principally, of Pharisees and 
Sadducees. The former believed in a hereafter, and in the 
resurrection of the body, as well as in the doctrine of rewards 



ALETHAURION. 



485 



and punishments, in the future life. They also accepted the 
books recognized as divine, by the Jews of our day, twenty- 
two in number. 

The Sadducees would receive no others than the five books 
of Moses : denied the existence of spirits, and maintained 
that men are rewarded or punished in this life only, for the 
good or evil they may do. 

Between those two sects there was as much disputing and 
wrangling on points of belief, as between Methodists and 
Campbellites of this country. But the Pharisees, being 
more numerous, more learned in the law, and more bare- 
facedly pious, generally succeeded in carrying the day. 

St. Paul had but little to expect from either party, for 
both had opposed the Saviour, and neither had any love for 
His Apostles. But, by a shrewd maneuver, making use of 
an ambiguous expression, he gained the good will of one of 
the parties, and escaped their united malice. 

To have recourse to similar tactics would be lawful also 
at the present day, under proper circumstances. Let us 
suppose a town or city inhabited by heretics and infidels, and 
that between both there is much religious hatred, the one 
maintaining the authenticity, integrity, veracity and inspira- 
tion of the scriptures, and the other denying one and all 
these truths. 

A Catholic, persecuted for the faith, and brought before 

a council composed of men from both sides, could make use 

of the same ruse, and say, almost in Paul's words. 

" Men, brethren, I am a believer in the Bible, the son of a man who 
believed in it : Concerning the truth contained therein I am called in 
question." Acts xxiii, 6. 

Thus Paul escaped the fury of those bloodhounds, who 
now turned upon one another and wrangled. The tribune, 
fearing that he might be torn in pieces amongst them, sent 
soldiers, who again conducted him to prison. 

But the danger was not yet over. Next day no less than 



486 



ALETHAURION. 



forty Jews entered into a conspiracy, and " bound them- 
selves with a curse, that they would neither eat nor drink 
till they had killed Paul." 

Their plan was to get the chief priests to have him brought 
once more before the council, and they, lying in wait, would 
assassinate him as he was led from prison. 

Having learned their designs, and wishing to give them 
ample time to fast, he made known the secret to the tribune, 
who immediately took measures to send him to Caasarea, 
where Governor Felix laid down the law, and made others 
observe it. 

Before accompanying the Apostle thither, we will state a 
few truths regarding secret societies ; a subject suggested by 
the conspiracy already mentioned. 



CHAPTER CXIY. 



SECRET SOCIETIES AND KINDRED SUBJECTS. 

A proclivity for clap-trap and secrecy is a weakness that 
seems inherent, if not to all, at least to very many of Adam's 
race. It may be noticed even in the savage, though it 
attains the perfection belonging to its species, in civiliza- 
tion. 

The various tribes, hostile one to another, found on this 
continent at the time of its discovery, point out the exis- 
tence of a powerful centrifugal force in human nature, for 
in all probability, there were not at first, more than a few 
distinct families. 

But in the course of time, rivalries sprang up between 
leading men ; then secrecy and scheming took the place of 
manly arts. 

As among savages, the coercive force to maintain unity 
was not strong, schism after schism was the natural result : 
until the presence of some common danger made further 



ALETHAUEION . 487 

division not desirable. Among civilized people, on the con- 
trary, there appears to be, in our time, a tendency to agglo- 
meration. This comes of superior political sagacity. 

Men are getting to see more and more the advantages of 
unrestrained intercourse with one another ; and the day is 
possibly not distant when the whole of North America will 
be only one and the same nation ; with home rule in each 
particular state, and a central authority to complement the 
whole. 

England at one time had seven kings ; and Ireland had 
many princes with, long pedigrees. Until recently, Ger- 
many was cut up like sauer-kraut, with grand dukes and 
electors, too thick to thrive. Italy, too, had its stock of 
princes, each independent, and with one exception, insig- 
nificant. 

But things have changed within the present century, and 
we hope that before another hundred years shall have 
passed, kings will be confined principally to the chess-board 
and to the stage, where they shine brightest and do the 
least harm. 

With the establishment of republics in the various coun- 
tries of Europe, the process of agglomeration will go on 
more steadily, and standing armies, those adjuncts of des- 
potism, that paralyze in peace, and destroy in war, will be 
out of a job. 

But though superior intelligence causes men to unite on 
some grand and leading principle, and to resent the viola 
tion of it on the part of individuals, still that centrifugal 
force — that weakness for separation, will in all probability,, 
be never totally eradicated. 

In these United States, where the general government is 
loved by the majority and respected by all, that itching for 
division from the herd manifests itself in the multitude of 
secret societies. Besides Free Masons and Odd Fellows we- 
have an almost endless secondary list, some local, others 



488 



ALETHAURION . 



national, and the catalogue is not as yet completed, for new 
ones are daily springing into existence. Now it is not to be 
wondered at, that in countries like Russia and Germany, 
where the people are trampled in the dust by their rulers, 
and where a man can scarcely breathe the free air of heaven 
without a license from the king, that there should be secret 
leagues among the people, in order to rid themselves of the 
monstrous incubus. But here in America, where every one 
whose cause is just, has not only free speech and free action, 
but likewise the sympathy and support of the country and 
its institutions, it appears strange at first sight, that there 
should be found so many secret cliques. 

Before entering into speculations regarding the cause of 
this, it may be proper, in a cursory way, to call attention to 
an important point of distinction between the secret socie- 
ties of Europe and those of America. Many, if not all, of 
the former, are revolutionary in their tendencies ; i. e., they 
aim at the overthrow of the civil government or of the 
Church. In Russia, the Nihilists, wearied with despotism 
and injustice, would liberate themselves from a galling 
bondage, by the destruction of the throne itself. In France 
and Italy, where the secret societies manage the govern- 
ment, their action is directed against the Church. In this 
country, on the contrary, there is not, so far as we can see, 
that same revolutionary spirit among secret societies ; yet, 
they are not the less to be dreaded, for they are like pow- 
der magazines. 

Secrecy alone, is a presumption of guilt. The great 

Teacher and Model of our race, has said : 

44 Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, and cometh not to the 
light that his works may not he reproved : hut he that doeth truth, 
cometh to the light, that his works may he made manifest, "because they 
are done in God." John iii, 20 21. 

If } T ou analyze the motives of any man who enters a secret 

society, } T ou will find them, in nine cases out of ten, either 

"vain, selfish or sinful — principally vain or selfish. When 



ALETHAURION. 



489 



we take into consideration the influence wielded by such 
societies, the secret bonds of friendship between the mem- 
bers, their oaths to be true to one another, etc., it will no 
longer astonish us that men who seek preferment, success in 
business, or social standing, should wish to have their names 
inscribed on the rolls of one or more of them. 

But, what harm can there be in making friends and allies 
to help us through in the battle of life? says some one. We 
freely admit that, in dealing with a non-Catholic, it is not 
an easy thing to convince him that he is wrong in being a 
Freemason or Odd Fellow. He reasons thus : Our society 
is established for no revolutionary purpose ; men of all shades 
of political opinion can become members ; we require no 
religious test from any one ; Catholics, Protestants, Jews 
and Infidels may join us, if they wish, and still go to their 
own places of worship on Sundays, or stay away, just as 
they choose. We make war upon no government, Church 
or organization. Our objects are brotherly love, mutual aid, 
and sociability. 

What reply shall we give to a man who states his case in 
the foregoing words? 

A substantial answer to the Freemason's plea, implies a 
long argument showing that Christ, who proved His 
Divinity by rising from the dead, established on earth a 
society intrusted with man's peace of soul here, and his 
happiness hereafter ; that said society is the Catholic 
Church, and that what she condemns cannot be really 
good or advantageous to mankind. This is the only line 
of argument by which one can reach a non-Catholic Free- 
mason. 

Little incidents do occur, from time to time, that may be 
used to advantage against secret societies. Thus, for exam- 
ple, a Freemason, ,high in the order, commits a felony, that 
might take one of the uninitiated to the State's prison or to 
the gallows ; but the judge is a brother, the sheriff is a 
brother, more than half of the most influential jurors are 



490 



ALETHAURION. 



brothers, the lawyers on both sides are brothers y and the- 
felon slips out of the clutches of the law between them. 

In this consists the very essence of those societies contem- 
plated in the anathemas of the Church. When allegiance to 
a society is made paramount to the fidelity which is lawfully 
due the State or Church, then it becomes sinful, and the 
organization that encourages it can be little else than an 
engine of Satan. 

It is to counteract the evil influence of those secret socie- 
ties which are under heretical or infidel control, that others,, 
modeled almost on their plan, have been established, and 
are very properly encouraged among the faithful. In this 
way, men with a weakness for bunting, processions, and 
clap-trap generally, have a means of indulging their genius,, 
without being exposed to the danger of seduction. 

Let us here attempt to define what is to be understood by 
a Catholic society. A Catholic society is an association of 
men professing the Catholic faith, subject to the control of 
officers duly elected, or appointed, acknowledging the 
authority and guided by the just counsels of the pastor, 
within whose jurisdiction the society is established and the' 
members reside. 

Here also, it may be proper to call attention to the dis- 
tinction between a Catholic society and a society of Catholics. 
The right of individual Catholics to organize, for a specific 
and lawful purpose, cannot be questioned, nor is there any 
need that such an organization should make, as a society, a 
formal acknowledgment of its allegiance to the Church 
It may be simply a civil institution, each member thereof 
fulfilling the duties and obligations of his religion, as 
an individual, without relation to his connection with the 
society. 

But while we maintain that Catholics have the right to 
organize civil societies for one good purpose or another, we 
are not ignorant of the fact that such may easily become, in 
the hands of a few designing men, powerful engines for 



ALETHAURIONc 491 

mischief. They have not the indefectibility and infallibility 
that belongs to the Church ; hence, such organizations may 
err in their aims, or may, in course of time, cease to be 
what they were originally. The pool that receives not from 
time to time, a fresh supply from the fountain, is apt to 
corrupt ; and a society of Catholics, even without the secrecy, 
may easily become, to all intents and purposes, a secret 
society. Yet, let no one attempt to make the way narrower 
than Christ made it. He that would curtail liberty may do 
to keep a jail, but is not fit to lead men to what is noble, 
grand and glorious. 

In oar next we return to St. Paul. 



CHAPTER CXV. 



ST. PAUL IS TAKEN TO CLES AREA , AND THENCE TO ROME. 

After his narrow escape from Jewish treachery in Jerusa- 
lem, Paul was taken to Csesarea to be judged by Governor 
Felix. Felix, like most of the underlings of that day, 
and in fact, like the majority of State officials in every age 
and country, had that cringing regard for Cesar, usually 
termed loyalty, which then, as now, meant little more than 
a love of office and of the emoluments appertaining there- 
unto. He did not neglect to give the Apostle a speedy trial, 
but, though finding nothing in him worthy of punishment, 
yet he did not suffer him to regain his freedom, and on. 
one pretext or another kept him prison. 

Felix, no doubt, often had his palm greased by litigants 
before his tribunal, and that a leading man like Paul should 
be taken out of prison by the multitudes who loved and 
admired him, on paying a round sum, appeared to His 
Excellency as largely within the bounds of probability. 
But he was mistaken. Our ancestors, in the faith of those 
primitive and palmy days, took no bribes and gave none. 



492 ALETHAURION. 

Paul was not slow in divining the real motives that influ- 
enced his jailer. Hence, one day when Felix came with 
Dbusilla, his wife, who was a Jewess, upon the pretence 
of hearing the faith which is in Christ, the Apostle treated 
in a special manner, of justice, of chastity and of the judg- 
ment to come. We are informed the Governor did not relish 
such a discourse any to well, being terrified by the earnest- 
ness and eloquence of the great Apostle. But on account 
of his wife he tried to bluff his way out of the confusion 
plainly visible in his countenance. So, with an air of great 
importance and authority, he said to Paul, " You may go 
now, but at a convenient time I will send for you." 

Seutoxius, in Claudius, section twenty-eight, informs us 
that the Felix here spoken of had, in all, three wives or 
queens ; and it is moreover evident, from Josephus, Antiq. 
xx, 7-2, that Drusilla was not his lawful wife, but a woman 
whom Simox Magus had persuaded to leave her own hus- 
band, who was king of Emesa, and a proselyte, in order to 
cohabit with Felix, an idolator. 

These facts being known, we readily comprehend why he 
was so terrified at hearing the Apostle's discourse concern- 
ing chastity and the judgment to come ; and we may also 
easily guess the reasons that moved Paul to choose those 
subjects on the occasion. For he never missed an opportu- 
nity to humble and confound the insolent and unjust, whilst 
he infused a spirit of manly dignity into the hearts of all 
who loved the truth. 

Tacitus, speaking of this same Felix, says : 

' k He exercised the authority of a king with the disposition of a slave, 
and relying upon the great power of his brother Pallas at court, thought 
that he might safely be guilty of all kinds of wickedness." 

Many, if not all the Roman governors of provinces, at 

this period, were but mere creatures, brought to the surface 

by force of meanness and time serving. Such men never 

know how to use authority with propriety for their instincts 



ALETHAURION. 



493 



being of a low, slavish nature, they combat magnanimity 
instead of encouraging it in others. 

Indeed, we may lay it down as a general principle, that 
they who gain position by humoring the follies and vices of 
one man are rarely fit to govern many. 

The providence of God is certainly mysterious, but in 
nothing more so than in permitting a base wretch, with the 
demeanor of a favorite lackey, like Felix, to exercise au- 
thority over such men as St. Paul. After two years of 
injustice and petty tyrany, Felix was called to Koine to 
answer for his crimes. 

His neck was in danger, and it would have cracked had 
not his brother Pallas, another black Cherub, obtained his 
pardon through personal influence with Nero. 

Portius Festus succeeded him, who also left Paul still a 
prisoner; for he wished to gratify the Jews. In meantime 
the chief priest and principal men of the city had formed a 
new plot — to have Paul taken back from Ca^sarea to Jerusa- 
lem, so their hired assassins, in which the country then 
abounded, might murder him on the way. 

As the Apostle had but little confidence in the firmness of 

Festus, and knowing, moreover, that he sought to gain 

favor with the Jews, he did not hesitate to take the last 

step by appealing at once to Cesar : 

" I stand at Caesar's tribunal," said he " for if I have injured them, or 
have committed aiwthing that deserveth death, I refuse not to die, but if 
there be nothing of these things whereof they accuse me, no man can 
deliver me to them. I appeal to C^sar. 

While Festus was awaiting a favorable opportunity to 
send Paul to Rome, he received a complimentary visit 
from his friend, King Agrippa. He also wished to see and 
hear the Apostle. 

But though a man of fine, natural abilities, and a believer 
in the prophets, Agrippa did not embrace Christianity ; for 
the fog of worldly pleasure, prevented the light of the gos- 
pel from 6hining upon his soul in its full splendor. He 



494 



ALETHAUKION. 



remained in unbelief, satisfied with the praises of men, and 
careless about the great hereafter. 

The incidents in Paul's voyage to Rome are given in the 
last two chapters of the Acts of the Apostles. We shall 
shall take notice of only one of them. 

It is related that after shipwreck, while in the island of 
Malta, he was bitten by a viper, but having suffered no 
harm, the people took him for a god. That the viper's 
poison should have lost its deadly force on the Apostle 
does not excite our wonder, considering the many miracu- 
lous interpositions of Providence in those days. 

But there is another circumstance in connection there- 
with, which may not be known to all. There are vipers, 
and many of them, to this day in Malta, yet strange to say, 
they are no longer venemous. And the natives have a 
tradition to the effect, that ever since St. Paul was bitten, 
the vipers on the island have ceased to be poisonous. 

The absence of snakes and other venemous reptiles in 
Ireland is an almost parallel case. An ancient and univer- 
sal tradition throughout the island ascribes their banishment 
to St. Patrick. And we see nothing absurd in admitting 
such as true. 

Scientific men have found nothing in the soil or climate 
of Ireland different from those of England or Scotland, and 
yet serpents abound in both the latter, and not in the for- 
mer country. 

In our next we will finish the life of St. Paul. 



CHAPTER CXVL 



ST. PAUL ENTERS ROME HIS DEATH. 

Leaving Malta, Paul was brought to the city of the 
Cjesars, there to finish his ministerial life on earth, and 
seal with his blood the truth of all he had taught the 
nations. 



ALETHAURION. 



495 



As the charges against him were not, according to Eoman 
law, of serious consequence, he was permitted to occupy 
his own hired lodgings, with one soldier as a guard. St. 
Luke tells us that he remained two whole years in the 
aforesaid quarters. 

Many Jews, residents of the city, called upon him, to 
whom he preached the new order of things ; to some with 
success, whilst the majority remained obstinate. 

Let the reader here recollect that up to the time of which 
we are speaking, viz : A. D. 61, the followers of Christ 
experienced the utmost toleration at the hands of the civil 
authorities. Indeed it is said, that the Emperor Tiberius 
desired to place the statue of our Saviour in the Capitol, 
among the gods of Rome. He was liberal enough in his 
views. 

But the Senate, moved by a higher power that wills not 
that truth and falsehood be blended, refused to accede to 
Ms wishes. It was the obstinate Jews that first pointed out 
to the Roman magistrates the difference between themselves 
and the early followers of Christ. 

Judaism, being the religion of the people that formed a 
part of the Empire, was tolerated at Rome ; but Christianity 
had no such backing. And, as said above, were it not for 
Jewish malice, the civil authorities would have remained for 
years ignorant of any distinction between those who 
observed the law of Moses and those who believed in 
Chkist. 

Cjesar is not excusable for his persecution of the Church. 
But, in extenuation of his crime, it may be said that it was 
the Jew who first put him up to it. 

With the liberation of St. Paul from prison ends the 
narrative of St. Luke, as found in the Acts of the Apostles. 
The few remaining incidents in his life have been handed 
down by tradition. 

It is said that during his stay in the city, and before the 
persecution under Nero had broken out, he wrote some 



496 



AEETHAUPJOX . 



letters to the Pagan philosopher Sexeca, and received 
others from him in return. Of these epistles, and of 
Seneca himself, St. Jerome, in his catalogue of Ecclesias- 
tical writers, speaks in the following words : 

"Lucius Ann^eus Seneca, of Cordova, the disciple of Socion the 
Stoic, and uncle of the poet Lucan, was a man of the greatest continency, 
whom I would not put in the catalogue of Saints, if those epistles read by- 
many, of Paul to Seneca and of Seneca to Paul had not moved me 
thereunto. In which epistles Seneca says that he could wish to hold 
the same place among his own people that Paul does among the 
Christians. 1 ' 

St. Augttstxe also, in his 54th epistle, which is to Mace- 
doxius, alludes to letters passed between our Apostle and 
the philosopher in question. 

It is most probable, however, that the genuine letters 
have been lost, for those given by Sixtus Sexexsis, lib. II. 
Biblioth, Sane, are generally regarded by the learned as 
spurious. Consult Baronius, Tome I, Annals A. D. 66. 

From the time of Paul's egress out of prison to that of 
his death, A. D. 69, we have aperiod of eightyears, and one 
would naturally inquire whether he spent it all in evange- 
lizing the Eternal City. In reply, it may be said, that, we 
have no means of determining with certainty whether he 
stayed in the city or went elsewhere to preach the gospel. 

His well known restless disposition and zeal in diffusing 
the truths of the faith would lead us to believe that he could 
not remain so long a time in one place — even though it had 
then some millions to be converted. 

Indeed, while he was yet at Corinth, preparing to go to 

Jerusalem with the charitable contributions collected in 

Achaia and Macedonia, he wrote to the Romans, warning 

them of his intention to visit their city, and from there to 

pass into Spain. 

" When I shall begin," says he, " to take my journey into Spain, I hope 
that as I pass, I shall see you. and he brought on my way thither by you, 
if first, in part, I shall have enjoyed you." Eomans xv. 24. 



ALETHAUEION. 



497 



His arrest at Jerusalem, and subsequent imprisonment for 

four years made it impossible for him to accomplish his 

design of visiting Spain as soon as he otherwise would have 

done. But that he afterwards did so, we are assured by 

many of the ancient Fathers. Cyril, of Jerusalem, Catech., 

17, speaking of our Apostle, says : 

" From Jerusalem even to Illyrieum did he disseminate the gospel, 
who also taught regal Rome, and extended the alacrity of his preaching 
as far as Spain." 

St. John Chrysostom, Homily 76, in Matt., says : 

"When therefore he had passed two years in Rome, he was at length 
permitted to regain his freedom, then he went into Spain . . . and then, 
perhaps, returned to Rome, when he was put to death at the command of 
Nero.*' 

Many others also testify to the same fact ; but let those 
we have given suffice. 

Some time after these events the Emperor Nero, who had 
taken a fancy to fluting and poetry, conceived the design of 
setting Rome on fire, in order that he might have the pleasure 
of witnessing a conflagration similar to that of Troy. His 
minions accordingly applied their torches ; whilst Nero, 
seated on an eminence, with his flute, enjoyed the blaze. 

But, as the firing of Rome was something that even an 
emperor could not be guilty of, with impunity, Nero rightly 
judged that it was none too soon to divert attention from 
himself, and lay the blame on some one else. 

The Christians were charged with the crime, and a perse- 
cution inaugurated to blot them out. Peter and Paul, 
along with scores of others, were seized and cast into prison. 
Of the former we have already spoken, and the story of the 
latter we shall now finish in a few words. 

There is a place in the Roman campagna, alongside the 
road to Ostia, called the Three Fountains, to which the finger 
of tradition points as the spot where Paul fought his last 
battle. 



■498 



ALETHAURION. 



The writer had the pleasure of a visit to it on the 25th of 

February, 1868, and what follows is taken verbatim from 

his note book : 

" To-day at half-past eight, a. m., went out to see the Church of the 
Three Fountains, where St. Paul was martyred. This Church is on the 
Ostian way, some three or four miles, English measure, beyond the 
Ostian Basilica. There are, properly speaking, three Churches. One 
built in the Basilican style ; the other two, circular. In one of the latter 
is a place that contained, or still contains, the relics of ten thousand 
martyrs. The other is built over the spot where St. Paul laid down his 
life for his faith. In this there are three fountains. Tradition says that 
when Paul's head was severed from his body it made three leaps, and, 
wherever it struck the earth, a fountain of water sprang up. The foun- 
tains in question are about four paces apart, and in a straight line. They 
are now surrounded by masonry, and the head of St. Paul is represented 
over each one in marble. Some persons claim they can distinguish a 
difference in the taste of the \\ aters ; there may be, but I failed to notice 
it. However, it seemed to me that the water from one of the fountains 
was warmer than that of the others. These three Churches seem much 
neglected, and, in fact, one could scarcely expect it to be otherwise, 
because they are far removed from the city, in the dreary solitute of the 
Campagna. Things will soon mend, for the Holy Father has concluded 
to bring a colony of Trappists to cultivate the ground and keep them in 
repair. There are present, already, some three or four of these monks — 
all G-ermans, dressed in brown habits and wearing heavy wooden shoes. 
But in a few days the real colony is expected to arrive from France." 

In our next we will give a synopsis of what the other 

Apostles did, and how they died. 



CHAPTER CXYII. 



SYNOPTICAL VIEW OF THE LIVES AND LABORS OF THE 
APOSTLES. 

Simon Peter, prince of the Apostles, born in the province 
of Galilee, was in early life a fisherman. Called to be an 
Apostle, he received from the Saviour a primacy not only 
of honor, but also of jurisdiction over the Universal 
Church. 



ALETHAURION. 



499 



He labored in Jerusalem and amongst the Jews who were 
dispersed through the regions of Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, 
Cappadocia and Asia. Founded the See of Antioch, Euseb. 
iii, 1, and finally went to Eome, which he made the center 
of Catholic unity, by fixing his chair permanently therein. 
Was put to death for the faith, by order of Nero, June 29, 
A. D. 69. 

Paul was born at Tarsus, in Cilicia, persecuted the Church 
at first, but, after conversion, became the most active of all 
the Apostles. He was beheaded for the faith in Rome, June 
29, A. D. 69. St. Gregory of Nyssa, Orat viii, de Beatitu- 
dine, says, incorrectly, that he was crucified. 

Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, is said to have 
first preached to the Scythians, Sogdians, and to other tribes 
north of the Black Sea. Later on, he entered Greece, and 
was crucified at Patrie, in Achaia. 

The cross on which he suffered is still preserved in the 
monastery of St. Victor, at Marseilles ; but its shape is 
the same as that of the Saviour. Andrew wrote nothing. 

The acts of his martydom, said to have been composed 
by the priests of Achaia, are a bone of contention amongst 
the learned. The most probable opinion is, they are not 
authentic. 

James the Greater, son of Zebedee, and brother of St. 
John the Evangelist, was one of those who witnessed the 
transfiguration on Mount Tabor. He was beheaded for the 
faith, by order of Herod Agrippa, A. D. 44. 

It is uncertain whether he ever passed as an Evangelist, 
beyond the confines of Judea. The Spaniards maintain that 
he first introduced the gospel into their country. But their 
claims to the honor are not generally allowed. 

John the Evangelist, son of Zebedee, lived the longest 
of any of the Apostles. The ancient Fathers Euseb iii, 31, 
tell us that he died at Ephesus, about the year 104 of our 
«ra. 



500 



ALETHAURION. 



Tertullian, in his work, De proescrip. hcereticorum, chap. 
36, relates, that, during the persecution of Domitian, he 
was brought to Rome and thrown into a caldron of boiling 
oil, from which he came forth unharmed, and even more 
vigorous. The spot where this took place is still pointed 
out, not far from the Latin gate. 

Peter, bishop of Alexandria, informs us that his gospel, 
in John's own handwriting, (to idiochiron,) was preserved 
at Ephesus up to the sixth century. See Chron., Alex., by 
Eader. 

It is stated in the revelations of both St. Bridget and of 
St. Gertrude, that St. John's body has already anticipated 
the glory of the general resurrection. But the student of 
history and theology must take those special revelations with 
caution. Women are naturally imaginative, and a vivid 
dream may sometimes be taken by them for a vision from 
on high. 

Philip preached the gospel of the Kingdom, first in 
Scythia, and then in Phrygia, where he died in the city of 
Hierapolis, A. D. 54. It is uncertain whether he suffered 
martyrdom. 

Eusebius, in Chron., says : 

"This same year, the fourth of the 107th Olympiad, Philip, the 
apostle of Christ, whilst preaching the gospel to the people of Hierapo- 
lis, a city of Asia, was fastened to across and overpowered with stones."' 

This testimony appears clear enough. But it is wanting 
in some very important manuscript codes, and hence the 
doubt regarding its genuinity. 

Bartholemew first preached the gospel in Armenia, and 
then in India, whither he also took with him the gospel of 
St. Matthew, in Syro-Ccaldaic. Pantcenus, a christain 
philosopher, came across it there a hundred years later, as 
Eusebius v, 10, testifies. 

He is said to have been skinned alive, and afterwards 
beheaded at Albanopolis, a city of Armenia. Others say 
that, after being cruelly scourged and nailed to a cross, he 



ALETHAURION. 



501 



finished his clays and gained the crown at an extreme old age, 
in Urbanopolis, also in Armenia. 

Matthew, first a tax collector, and afterwards called to 
the apostolate, preached the gospel in Ethiopia, now called 
Abyssinia. Socrates iii, 19. He is said to have died among 
the Parthians, to whom he also preached. Ancient authors 
do not agree respecting the manner of his death. 

Clement of Alexandria, Strom, iv, affirms that he did not 
suffer martydom, but died in peace. 

Nicephorus, ii, 41, states that his persecutors having 
kindled a fire around him, he extinguished it by his prayers, 
and at length yielded up his soul in peace. Latin authors 
generally hold that he died a martyr. 

The Apostle Thomas, was the first to confess clearly and 
distinctly, the divinity of the Saviour. John xx, 28. 
Though slow to believe what had been related concerning 
the resurrection, yet, in the words of St. Gregory the 
Great : 

< 'We are more assured in our faith by the doubt of St. Thomas than 
by the ready belief of the other Apostles.' ' Horn. 26, in Evang. 

From Eusebius, iii, 1, we learn that our Apostle labored 
amongst the Parthians. By Parthia may be understood 
also Persia, and those regions bordering on India. 

A tradition of the third and fourth centuries informs us 
that he was buried at Edessa, a city of Mesopotamia. But, 
by a more recent one, we are assured that he suffered marty- 
dom in the city of Calamina, in India. 

When the Portuguese came to Malabar, about the year 
1500 A. D., they found native believers who called them- 
selves Christians of St. Thomas ; and when it became known 
that those people differed in belief somewhat from the 
Roman Church, the French Huguenot, La Croze, set to 
work to prove that the Christians of St. Thomas were genu- 
ine Protestants. j 

But his book entitled, ''The History of Christianity in 
the Indies," was so thoroughly riddled by Renaudot, Le 



502 



ALETHAURION. 



Brux and Assemaxi, that no Protestant now pretends to 
claim kinship any longer with the native Christians of 
Malabar. 

The best theory we have seen on this subject is, that those 
people, or rather their ancestors, were originally converted 
from Paganism by St. Thomas, but were drawn about the 
fifth century, into the Nestorian heresy, with which they 
were found tainted at the time of discovery by the Portu- 
guese. 

It has also been handed down that St. Thomas converted 
those three Magi, who adored our Lord in his infancy, 
and that he ordained them as coadjutors in the Evangelical 
field. 

James, the son of Alpeus, surnamed the Lesser, became 
first bishop of Jerusalem, and was martyred by the Jews, 
having been precipitated from the top of the temple. Euse- 
bius, ii, 23. 

Simon Chaxaxeus is said to have preached the gospel in 
Mesopotamia, and also in Egypt. In fact, little or nothing 
is known with certainty, regarding his labors or death. 

Of Jude, called also Thaddeus, and of Mathias who took 
the place of Judas Iscariot, we may repeat what has been 
said of Simox Chaxaxeus ; little is known about them that 
appears to rest on a solid basis. The former is said to have 
preached in Lybia, Mesopotamia, Arabia and Idumcea ; the 
latter in Judea and Ethiopia. 

There may be uncertainty in some cases regarding the 
particular countries in which the Apostles labored ; one thing 
is clear — they labored well. 

In our next we take up the gifts of the Church. 



ALETHAURION. 



503; 



CHAPTEK CXVIXL 



THE PEEROGATTVES OF THE CHURCH INDEFECTIBILITY. 

The Church of Christ has three prerogatives, granted by 
its divine founder. They are indefectibility in existing, 
infallibility in teaching, and authority in ruling. 

By the indefectibility of the Church we mean that it will 
retain, until the end of time, the same nature and proper- 
ties, as well internal as external, that it had on the first day 
of its existence — that it can not change in essentialsc This 
indefectibility of the Church differs from visibility, which 
effects only its external part. A Church may be conceived 
as visible without being indefectible, as for example, any 
one of the various sectarian conventicles. 

So, also, indefectibility differs from infallibility, for the 
latter is a term used only in connection with its office as 
teacher. A Church may be conceived as infallible in its- 
general councils for one or two generations, or even cen- 
turies, and yet not be indefectible, 

Anglicans generally maintain that the Church taught the 
truth for the first five or six centuries, and then, little by 
little, fell away. 

In other words, they den}' the indefectibility of the Church* 
whilst admitting its infallibility in council assembled ; at 
least for the period mentioned. Indefectibility differs also 
from perpetuity, for by the latter nothing more is meant 
than mere duration. The indefectibility of the Church may 
be likened to the personal identity of a man, with this dif- 
ference, that the retention of indentity in the individual does 
not necessarily imply retention of truth or of authority,, 
whereas, in that moral person we call the Church it does 
imply both the one and the other : and the admission of any 
one prerogative logically leads to the admission of the 
remaining two. 



504 



AIjETHAURION . 



Let us, before giving the proofs, call attention to the im- 
portance of the subject. Those that have left the Catholic 
Church do not deny that it goes back, as an organized 
society, to the time of Christ and the Apostles ; for to call 
that in doubt would be the act of an ignorant man. The 
succession of the popes, from Peter to Leo, proves it to a 
demonstration, for without a Church there would have been 
no popes. Hence, dissenters were compelled to find some 
pretext to justify their separation from us, and the pretext 
was this : That the Church had changed ; become corrupt ; 
that whilst it, indeed, still retained external or material 
sameness, it had lost it internally and formally ; that it 
taught error for truth, and consequently lost its right to 
command. 

Now, if it can be shown that the Church of Christ can- 
not essentially change, either externally or internally, it will 
be perceived that the prop slips from the pretext, and both 
tumble together. 

There is another error in the popular mind that prevents 
many well disposed heretics from seeing their way clearly : 
It is the idea of human progress. Men know from reading 
history, and also from personal observation, that some 
advance has been made in the arts and sciences within the 
present century. They see the ocean now traversed by 
powerful steamers that seem to bid defiance to the elements, 
whereas, a century ago seafaring people were, to a great 
extent,, at the mercy of the winds and waves. They see 
news now transmitted from city, to city with the speed of 
lightning. They see books and newspapers multiplied to an 
almost endless extent, by the art of printing ; whereas, pre- 
vious to the middle of the fifteenth century, the transcrib- 
ing of even one copy of the Scriptures was a labor of many 
months. Seeing such things, those who have not the faith 
are apt to think and say : As we make progress in art and 
science, why not also in religion? 

We once listened to an argument on this subject. The 



ALETHAUEION. 



505 



disputants were two old farmers who had come to town on a 
Saturday afternoon, to refresh the inner man, get the mail, 
and disburden themselves of their stock of political and 
theological smartness. Being mudsills and antiquated, their 
illustrations were homespun and rural, like themselves — 
taken principally from the corn-field, the blacksmithshop, 
and the stock-yard. But, though not classical, they had 
the merit of being expressive. The advocate of progress in 
religion came out triumphant. He overwhelmed his oppon- 
ent with a shower of modern instances. ' Finally, said he : 

1 * See how much better plows and reapers we have now; how much 
finer horses and cattle ; how much better houses to live in, than when you 
and I were lads ! All this is owing to progress, sir; to education, sir! 
And why can't we make some advance also in the study of the Bible, and 
in religion as well, sir'?"' 

One of the bystanders was going to tie on the blue ribbon, 

but another in the crowd said no ; that his nose was blue 

enough to make him conspicuous in any assembly in 

America. 

This argument, to one outside the true church, is both 
captious and plausible ; and, if we look well into the idea 
expressed by the farmer in his own crude way, it will be 
found to have had not a little to do with the rise and pro- 
gress of many of the sects. To a Catholic who believes in 
a living, teaching, indefectible, infallible Church, there can 
of course, be no difficulty ; but to the Protestant mind, there 
is here a powerful stimulus to everlasting change. 

With all the sects it passes for a fundamental principle, 
that the truths of religion are to be learned from the Bible 
alone ; that there is no infallible authority on earth to define 
its meaning in case of a controversy ; and that infallibility 
ceased in the Church with the death of the last Apostle. 

Moreover, he has been taught that for some ages before 
the time of Luther, the ignorance and moral darkness was 
such that the religion of Christ had practically ceased to 
exist amongst men, and was to be found, pure and undefiled, 
in the Bible only. 



506 



ALETHAURION. 



What is then more natural than for a Protestant to say to- 
himself : " The more modern the sect the more likely it has 
truth on its side ; for it has the wisdom and experience of: 
all that went before, and its own. Hence it is more likely 
that men are now nearer the true meaning of Scripture than 
they who lived three hundred years ago ; for they had not 
our advantages in education and enlightenment ; and those 
living a hundred years hence, will be able to come still- 
closer to the truth, for they will have advantages of which 
we cannot boast." • 

Now, as said above, to the Catholic, who has learned even 
the first principles of his faith, the same difficulty does not 
present itself. He believes that our Lord established on- 
earth a living, teaching, infallible authority. He believes 
that the authority in question has, from the day of Pente- 
cost, taught all that Christ did, and will continue to do so 
until the day of judgment. 

For a Catholic, there is no such a phrase as near, nearer, 
nearest to the truth. He makes no progress in belief. It 
is the same yesterday, to-day and forever, 

But the man who takes the Bible alone as his guide, is- 
obliged either to say that he is himself infallible in his- 
understanding of what is in it, or admit the progressive- 
theory, and be ready to change his belief each day and hour,, 
according as he becomes more or less learned in the Scrip- 
ture. 

Let us take another illustration of human progress, and 
contrast it with the unchangeableness of the Church. 

In the year 1807, Robert Fulton invented the steamboat, 
and made trial of his work, for the first time, on the Hud- 
son. It was a rude craft, but the attempt having been made, 
and with success, the ingenuity of others was set to work, in 
changing and perfecting what was defective ; until we now 
have the mighty Cunarder, that walks the Atlantic with the 
strides of a giant. 

Here we have an example of progress in art. We have a 



ALETHAURION. 



507' 



change certainly for the better. One learns by observation 
of even his own work ; and if he does not another may. 
But is it so in the work of God? No. God makes no pro- 
gress in knowledge. 

Hence, when He calls anything into existence for a special 
purpose, it most aptly fulfills its end from the beginning, 
and cannot be remodeled nor improved. 

* Suppose He should have revealed to some man in Ful- 
ton's day, the plan and model of a ship that would be the 
best possible for one hundred years ; the reader will readily 
see that progress in the art of shipbuilding would be at an 
end, until the one hundred years had passed, unless there 
arose, in the meantime, some man wiser than the Omnis- 
cient. 

It is thus with the Catholic Church. It is the direct crea- 
tion of God, for the specific purpose of taking men to the 
port of eternal rest. 

No man can improve on it ; and tnat it cannot be changed 
for the worse, we will show, by direct proofs, in a future 
chapter. 



CHAPTEE CXIX. 



REASONS GOING TO SHOW THAT THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IS 
INDEFECTIBLE. 

In some of the earlier chapters of this work, we proved 
that the Saviour placed certain marks on his Church, by aid 
of which any one in search of the true fold, may easily 
identify and distinguish it from any and all the dens of error. 
These marks are Unity, Holiness, Universality and Apos- 
tolicity. 

Having already explained their import, we shall not re- 
peat, but observe that, if well considered, they prove the 
mdefectibility of the Church. 

If the Church of Christ could become a conglomeration 



508 



ALETHAURION. 



of all who believe in His name, whether Catholics or not ; if 
it could teach in one place that our Lord is really and truly 
present in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and in another, 
that it is a matter of indifference whether such a doctrine is 
believed or not, then the mark of Unity would no longer 
serve as a means by which to identify the Church. 

Again : If it taught false doctrine in matters appertain- 
ing to faith and morals, if it approved what God condemns, 
Holiness w T ould not do as a mark. If it became a mere local 
society, confined to one city or province, teaching only a 
part of what Christ taught, the mark of Universality would 
I>e of no avail. 

We do not, however, wish to enter here into that specula- 
tive question so ably discussed by Cardinal Bellarmime. 
Lib. iv. De notis eccl. cap. vii, viz: That the Church 
of Christ might be confined, materialiter , to even one pro- . 
vince, and still have upon it the mark of Universality. 
We simply observe that he appears to us to have proved his 
point . 

But, historically speaking, if we except its infancy, it 
never has been confined to one province, and prophetically 
speaking, we believe it never will. 

However that may be, it is yet certain that, if the Church 
lost both material ^({formal Catholicity, Universality would 
no longer serve as a mark by which to find it. We may 
repeat the same of Apostolicity. 

If the Church taught doctrines different from those of 
the Apostles, or employed ministers not regularly ordained, 
it is evident the mark of Apostolicity would no longer serve 
its purpose. 

We may now illustrate what has thus far been said by an 
anecdote. 

Early in the Autumn of 1865, the writer went on a trip 
over to London, and from there to some few noted cities on 
the Continent. On the way across the Atlantic, we were 
blest with good weather, generally speaking ; and our 



ALETHAURION . 



509 



captain, a thoroughbred John Bull, with leg-of-motton whis- 
kers, thick neck and red face, was not a bad sort of a bloat, 
in the main. 

Amongst the passengers was a middle-aged lady, from 
somewhere out in the Great West, whose ideas regarding 
ships and navigation were evidently of home manufacture, 
and correspondingly crude. She had her three girls with 
her ; all prudent, well-conducted gentle women, and fair as 
the daughters of Job . Two of her boys were also on board ; 
fine specimens of manhood, each fully six feet high, and 
fiddlers, both of them. 

Passing up the English Channel, we came to the town of 
Deal, beautifully ensconced in trees, and fanned by wind- 
mills. At this point the renowned Roman captain, Julius 
C^sar, is said to have first effected a landing in Britain ; 
and the place retains something of the lustre and romance 
that surrounds his great name. After having run over, in 
imagination, some of the events of his life, and the circum- 
stances of his untimely exit, we were awakened from our 
reverie by a question from Madam Prairielark to the 
captain. "What makes the waves break so," said she, "out 
here to the right, in that one particular spot, and nowhere 
else?" 

Ah, madam," said our Palinurus in his sweetest and 
mildest way, "they are the Goodwin .quicksands and are 
very dangerous for us sea-faring people, so that we have to 
keep a close watch when passing through this portion of the 
channel." 

"And why don't they put a mark over them, so as to 
warn people of their danger?" again chimed in our Great 
Western. 

"A mark, madam," said the captain, "would be of no 
service there, for those sands, not unfrequently, shift several 
rods in one night, and a buoy anchored to one spot, would 
be the means of leading mariners into what might be a 



510 



ALETHAURION . 



fatal error, instead of serving as a warning against dan- 
ger." 

Great Western, nothing daunted by so clear a statement 
of the case, came to the front once more, wanting to know 
why they did not make buoys with floating anchors, that 
would move according as the sand bank shifted. 

The idea of a buoy with a floating anchor was too much 
for Captain Pinkum's gravity ; and one might notice the 
laugh coming up from his toes until it spread all his face, 
and finally came out of both eyes and his mouth, in a mon- 
strous guffaw, that made the cables vibrate. A giggle of 
the others that stood around followed the captain's heroic 
effort. 

But Great Western, after declaring that she could not 
see what there was to laugh at, walked off proudly and in 
high dudgeon to her state-room ; remarking as she went, 
that people should not try to pass themselves off for gen- 
tlemen, until they had learned their manners, and that 
impoliteness to a lady was nothing to be proud of — in her 
opinion. 

To put a buoy, anchored or otherwise, over the Goodwin 
quicksands, would certainly be a piece of folly on the part 
of a man, unless he first invented some means of keeping 
them permanently in one place ; and to put marks on the 
Church, and permit it to drift away from them is something 
that never can be reconciled with the infinite wisdom and 
love of the Saviour. 

The marks then, prove the indefectibilit} r of the Church, 
for Christ Himself impressed them, and on that account, 
He is in a manner constrained to keep the Church from 
drifting. 

Hence, though the sects may need buoys with floating 
anchors, we Catholics surely do not. 

Our Church is built upon a rock ; and though the winds 
may blow and the waves may dash in fury against it, it will 



ALETHAURION. 



511 



remain immovable forever. He that commands the ele- 
ments and holds the sea in the hollow of His hand, has said : 

" Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and 
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Matt. xvi. 18. " Behold, I 
am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. " Matt, 
xxviii, 20. 

The end for which the Church was established would, of 
itself, all the circumstances considered, be proof sufficient 
of its indefectibility. Christ founded and built the Cath- 
olic Church in order, through it to teach mankind, not alone 
for one or two generations, but for all time, the will of His 
Father. 

The Church is the ordinary implement by which He 
works, in the spiritual order on earth. And as a wise hus- 
bandman will not suffer his farming utensils to rust or rot, 
as the soldier keeps his gun and sabre bright, and in work- 
ing order, so the Saviour will forever preserve His Church 
in indefectibility. 

The bride of the Lamb cannot become an adultress. 
" She is the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys ; 
her cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's ; and her neck 
as jewels ; she goeth up by the desert as a pillar of smoke 
of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense, and of all 
the powders of the perfumer. She is all fair, and there is 
not a spot in her; she is an inclosed garden, a fountain 
sealed up. Her neck is as the tower of David, which is 
built with bulwarks ; a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all 
the armor of valiant men." (Canticle of Canticles; pas- 
sim.) 

In our next we consider some changeable elements in the 
Church. 



512 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER CXX. 



A CHANGEABLE ELEMENT IN THE CHURCH. 

On toward the close of the middle ages, a celebrated 
painter was one day passing through a villa, near the city of 
Florence, when his attention was called to a group of chil- 
dren at play near one of the fountains. Taking a seat in 
the shade of some forest trees that grew hard by, he watched 
their gambols, forgetting for the moment his own dull cares, 
or mingling them with the events of last night's dream, and 
the scenes of days long ago. Whilst in this pensive mood, 
the children drew around, asking many boyish questions ; to 
each of which he gave a suitable and gentle answer, and in 
turn he also asked information of his youthful friends. He 
soon discovered that thev belonged to the large class of 
youngsters to be found in every great city, who may be 
properly designated as " the Lord's own boys," for no one 
else appears to have either care for, or control over them. 
But the artist, far from being displeased at their freedom, 
listened to and encouraged each, as he told the story of the 
dangers he had passed, and the deeds that he had done. 

Then, having distributed amongst them some few small 
coins, he took his leave ; but not until he had exacted a 
promise of the largest, to come to his house on the next day 
at a certain hour. 

The boy's finely chiseled features, admirably shaped head 
and agile body, proclaimed him a member of the aristocracy 
of beauty ; whilst the steady gaze of his lustrous and flashing 
eyes showed that genius was not wanting. 

The artist had been seeking such a model for months, and 
secretly rejoiced that he had at length found it where he 
least expected. 

Not long after a picture was hung up in one of the public 



ALETHAUEION. 



513 



galleries of the city, one that readily attracted, and fixed the 
attention of every passer-by. It was a faithful portrait of 
the youth already mentioned. All who saw it and had 
learned that the picture was really from nature, felt happier 
at the thought that the race of Adam could yet boast of such 
models of perfection. 

But, whilst others were pleased the artist seemed restless 
and despondent every time he looked upon the picture. He 
had, in fact, on the day of its completion, conceived the 
idea of painting its counterpart. But though he could 
have drawn on his imagination, and easily have produced a 
work as ugly as the other was beautiful, yet the contrast 
in that case would not have been perfect. 

For years he sought a living model, and, though he found 
many whom accident or design had disfigured, he failed to 
discover a genuine work of nature to correspond with his 
conception of what the counterpart should be. 

Finally he gave up the search in despair and had set his 
thoughts upon other things ; until one afternoon he chanced 
to pass by the public prison, where he saw, through the bars 
a face that at once brought back his former hopes and 
aspirations. 

It was that of a man who apparently, had not as yet, by 
many years, touched the meridian of life. But the expres- 
sion and the features were so intensely diabolical that it was 
a wonder to even the artist himself how so much haggard 
villainy could have been gathered within so small a com- 
pass. 

He lost no time, but called upon the jailer forthwith. 
From him he learned that the prisoner had been, until the 
day before, a brigand, and a leader amongst them ; and 
since his capture he had not ceased to blaspheme God, the 
saints, and his own soul, in the most horrible manner. 

The painter then made known his errand ; and the things 
were so arranged, that without the prisoner's knowledge, a 
truthful image of him was soon registered upon the canvas. 



514 



ALETH AURION . 



The artist next brought his former ideal from the gallery, 
where it had hung for years, and placing it alongside of 
that other just finished, requested that the prisoner be led 
from his cell, to a point from which he could see both, and 
mark the contrast. 

The brigand gazed upon that portrait in which his present 
depravity was so faithfully depicted, and as he did so, a flash 
of infernal satisfaction darted from his truculent eyes. 
But when he had looked only for a moment on its counter- 
part — on that handsome and innocent youth — the hardened 
robber, house-burner and assassin, shuddered, tottered to 
the opposite wall, and wept. 

It too, was his own likeness, taken years ago, before 
crime had blackened his soul, and evil thoughts and pas- 
sions distorted the lineaments of his fair face. But repent- 
ance could not then satisfy the demands of justice, which 
claimed his life. 

Still the battle was won ; the lost sheep was found ; the 
prodigal was on his way home, thanking the Heavenly 
Father for his mercies which endure forever. 

"For years," said he to his confessor, "I despised the wise counsels 
of the Church, and sought only the admiration of the wicked, and the 
indulgence of my evil passions ; but now I know that virtue is to be 
more highly esteemed than beauty of form, and that honest and system- 
atic mediocrity better than erratic genius." 

The case of this youth, who whilst retaining personal 
identity, changed in everything else not essential to his 
being, will serve to illustrate how the Church can be one, 
holy, catholic, apostolic, indefectible, infallible and author- 
itative, and yet change in matters appertaining to discipline. 

It may easily be conceived how the Church, in one or 
more provinces, through incompetency or vice on the part 
of those who represent it, could be made so haggard as to 
be an object of scorn to the passer-by and an affliction to 
the sacred heart of its Divine Founder. 

The Jewish Synagogue, which pointed out the true way 
until the Saviour appeared on earth, became under the 



ALETHAURION. 



515 



manipulation of the Scribes and Pharisees, such as we speak 
of. Ophni and Phinees, the sons of the High Priest Heli, 
rendered the Synagogue odious also in their day. 

Even in the apostolic times, God, through the mouth of 
St. John, warned the bishop of Ephesus, because he had 
fallen away from his first charity. 

In the middle ages the right of investiture claimed by 
some temporal princes, was a frightful source of mischief, 
bespattering the garments of the spouse of Christ with 
ordure in the shape of worthless abbots and bishops. 

So deeply indeed had the evil taken root, that Pope St. 
Gregory, after having fought against it during his entire 
pontificate, had to console himself on his death-bed with the 
words : 

" I have loved justice and hated iniquity, therefore I die in exile."' 
The laxity of discipline, for some years before and at the 
time of Luther, was without doubt one of the causes or 
occasions of that heresiarch's success in the dissemination of 
his errors. For, were he to arise from the dead and appear 
now, his drunken bellowings would only excite contempt, 
and his debaucheries render him odious to all the living. 

There are evils even in our own day and country, which 
the good and virtuous are beginning to regard with some 
alarm. A growing spirit of pride and pomposity seems to 
be taking the place of the simplicity and zeal of earlier 
years. 

And the acquisition of mammon, through banking and 

speculation is no longer regarded as unworthy of the purple. 

Such things have happened before, and they will come to 

pass again, and be followed by the same consequences. 

" The Saviour's fan is still in His hand ; and he will thoroughly cleanse 
his floor aud gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn 
with unquenchable fire." Matt, iii, 12. 

Though, from the beginning, it has been a rule with us 

not to admit long quotations into these papers, yet on 

account of the matter of which we now treat, it may be 



516 ALETHAURION. 

proper to insert here what a great saint and martyr of the 
third century had to say of the changes that had come over 
the Church in his own day. It is the martyr Cyprian who 
speaks : 

"As long repose," says he, "had corrupted the discipline which had 
come down to us from G-OD, the Divine judgment awakening our faith 
kept it from declining, and if I may so speak, from going to sleep ; and 
though we deserved yet more for our sins, the most merciful Lord has so 
moderated all, that what has passed seemed rather a trial of what we 
were, than an actual infliction. Every one was applying himself to the 
increase of wealth, and forgetting both what was the conduct of believers 
under the Apostles and what ought to be their conduct in every age; 
they, with insatiable eagerness for gain, devoted themselves to the mul- 
tiplying of possessions. The priests were wanting in religious devoted- 
ness, the deacons in entireness of faith, there was no mercy in works, no 
discipline in manners. Men wore their beards in fantastic ways, and 
women painted their faces with a color. The eyes were changed from 
Avhat God made them, and a lying hue was given to the hair. The 
hearts of the simple were misled by treacherous artifices, and brethren 
became entangled in seductive wiles, ties of marriage Were formed with 
unbelievers, members of Christ abandoned to the heathen. Not only 
rash swearing was heard, but even false ; persons in high places were 
puffed up with contemptuousness ; poisoned reproaches fell from their 
lips; and men were estranged by never ceasing quarrels. Numerous 
bishops, who ought to have been an encouragement and an example to 
others, despising their sacred calling, engaged themselves in secular 
vocations, relinquished the pulpit and deserted their people, strayed 
among foreign provinces, hunted the markets for mercantile profits, tried 
to amass large sums of money while they had brethren starving within 
the Church, took possession of estates by fraudulent proceedings, and 
multiplied their gains by accumulated usuries." St. Cyprian de lap- 
sis, iv. 

St. Cyprian, who wrote the above not very flattering ac- 
count of the Church in his day, was Bishop of Carthage, in 
Africa, and suffered martydom for the faith, A. D. 258. 
It will readily be seen from the tenor of his remarks how 
he acknowledges, with sadness, that the Church had, 
after a long term of peace, changed for the worse, in its 
discipline. 

But should any one have attacked its indefectibility, or 
its infallibility, in matters appertaining to faith and morals, 
no one in his day would have been the readier or more 



ALETHAURION. 



517 



valiant with the pen, in its defense, than the same Cyprian. 
Hence, the faithful must not rest upon their oars, because 
the Church is indefectible ; there is need of continual effort 
to prevent the bark from going down the stream. 

But, if the sentinels on the tower of Zion neglect duty, or, 
through sloth and worldliness, refuse to be the instruments 
of God's mercy, He will raise up the unbeliever and the 
heretic to cleanse His floor and be the instruments of His 
justice and vengeance. 

In our next we will take a view of the changeable element 
in the Church, from the opposite standpoint. 



CHAPTER CXXI. 



A CHANGEABLE ELEMENT IN THE CHURCH. 

If one should take an acorn and place it in the ground, 
under favorable circumstances, it would not be long before 
a tiny and tender shoot would be seen rising abovt the 
surface ; this, in due time, and with proper care, would 
develop into a twig, the twig into a sapling, and the sapling 
into a lordly oak. Each season a change would be visible, 
for it would continue to put forth new branches and increase 
in size, until it had attained full growth. 

And, even then, it would not cease to change, for, as each 
winter came, it would shed its leaves, to be clothed again 
with others in the Spring, until, as the centuries passed, its 
branches, one by one, would die and fall to the ground, 
leaving only the trunk, which, in its turn, would also share 
the fate of all things earthly. 

Such a tree we may regard as an emblem of the Catholic 
Church. Beginning as a tiny sprout, it too has grown and 
flourished, until its branches overshadow the earth. It is 
by far the grandest organization that has ever been known 



518 



ALETHAURION. 



in the world, and nothing human can ever hope to rival its 
magnificence. 

But, like the tree, whilst retaining identity, it too is con- 
tinually undergoing changes ; for as long as there remains a 
nation to be converted to Christianity, so long will it con- 
tinue to shoot forth new branches. 

Yet it is not so much to those changes, which are the re- 
sult of natural growth, that we desire to draw attention. 
There is another mutable element, symbolized by the putting 
forth and fall of each year's foliage, of which we wish to 
speak. 

According as any society increases in numbers, so also 
will new laws and regulations become a necessity. The 
workingman, who has but himself and wife to take care of, 
has only a very short and simple code to go by, in his domes- 
tic affairs — he does the providing, and she, the cooking. 

But, as his family increases and grows up, he has to make 
many new rules and regulations. The pervicacity of some 
may need to be restrained by a ukase against keeping bad 
company, and & firman against laziness may be necessary to 
stimulate the sloth of others. 

Thus, also, while the Church was in its infancy, but few 
laws were necessary. Hence, the Apostles and ancients, 
assembled in council at Jerusalem, far from undertaking to 
write out an exhaustive system of canon law, confined them- 
selves to what was needed under the existing circumstances. 

— 

M For it hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us," said they, 
"to lay no further burden upon you than these necessary things. That 
you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from 
things strangled, and from fornication ; from which things, keeping your- 
selves, you shall do well/' Acts xv, 28-29. 

But, as the Church increased, and received under its 
mantle men of all nations, tribes, and tongues, we find that 
new disciplinary laws were made, and old ones, in some 
cases, abrogated, or suffered to become obsolete. 

In the above text we have also a clear proof of the fact 



ALETHAURION. 519" 

that the Apostles themselves drew a line of distinction 
between dogma and discipline. 

The command to abstain from blood and things strangled 
was evidently not intended to hold good for all time ; yet,, 
let it be observed, in this connection, that the Apostles, in 
making the law, do not state, either expressly or impliedly, 
that there would come a time when the law would no longer 
'have binding force. 

Here is just the place where our heretical neighbors get 
stuck in the mud. What authority have they for saying 
that it is not sinful to drink blood ? 

Protestants eat blood puddings, and yet pretend to follow 
the New Testament, which expressly forbids that they should 
taste of such things. 

For us Catholics there is no difficulty. We believe in a. 
living, teaching, authoritative Church, which has the power, 
the privilege, and we may add, the duty of deciding what is 
dogma and what is discipline. 

Hence, though, in the scripture, the eating of a blood 
pudding is ranked with fornication, we Catholics of the pres- 
ent day do not attribute the same importance to the one that 
we do to the other ; for the Church has long since decided 
that the first is a mere matter of discipline, and consequently 
may be changed, or altogether abrogated, whereas the other 
is a truth of the faith, a dogma that can not be changed. 

Again, we are told in the Acts, iv, that, in the beginning 
at Jerusalem, all things were in common amongst those that 
believed ; "for as many as were owners of lands or houses, 
sold them, and brought the price of things they sold, and 
laid it down at the feet of the Apostles. And distribution 
was made to every man according as he had need." 

Why do not the heretics of our day who receive the New 
Testament as an inspired book, hold their goods in com- 
mon ? 

They cannot have recourse to the subterfuge that such is. 



520 



ALETHAURION. 



one of the non-essentials, for it is stated in the same book 
of Acts, that Ananias and Saphira were both struck dead 
for refusing to conform, and for lying about what they 
possessed. 

The Shakers are certainly more consistent in this respect 
than any other of the heretical sects. What right has any 
Protestant to say that a community of goods amongst 
believers is not one of the apostolic dogmas. 

Suppose a shaker should come across a Campbellite and 
charge him with theft for appropriating to his own exclusive 
use, goods that ought to be common, according to apostolic 
example, what would the Campbellite have to say in his 
defense ? 

He would be compelled to have recourse to the Catholic 
doctrine of a distinction between dogma and discipline. 
But, not having the same ground to stand on that the Cath- 
olic has, the Shaker would come at him again, wanting to 
know on what authority he made such a distinction. 

The Campbellite would be forced to say on his own ; and 
the Shaker, with a grin and a shake, would reply, then you 
take yourself to be a greater man than St. Peter? He 
not only encouraged a community of goods amongst the 
early followers of Christ, but even punished Ananias and 
Saphira with death for their prevarication in the matter. 

The sects of our day, and indeed of all ages, not having 

a living teaching and infallible authority to guide them, do 

confound dogma and discipline most damnably, and to the 

eternal perdition of many souls, redeemed by the blood of 

Christ. Take e.g. that passage in the epistle of St. James 

the Apostle, wherein he says : 

"Is any man sick among you? let him bring in the priests of the Church 
.and let them pray over him, annointing him with oil, in the name of the 
Lord : And the prayer of faith shall save the sick man ; and if he be in 
sins, they shall be forgiven him." — v, 14-15. 

This plain command, which evidently was to have, and is 

to remain in force as long as men become sick and die, 



ALETHAURION. 



521 



the heretics regard as a matter of mere discipline, and 
consequently do not any longer obey it. 

So also the injunction to confess their sins one to another 
(James v, 16,) is not observed by the majority of the sects. 
In many other ways, too numerous to specify here, they 
have changed dogma into discipline, and discipline into 
dogma. 

If a deacon's daughter gets sick, her father will never 
dream of calling in the priests of the Church to anoint her 
with oil, because, in his opinion, it is a matter of indiffer- 
ence ; but if the same girl happens to go to a dance, ah, then 
the good deacon is at his wit's end to find some way to ex- 
cuse his daughter for that awful crime. 

We profess no special admiration for dancing masters, 
and we firmly believe the country could get along well 
enough without them, yet, dancing under some circum- 
stances is not all sinful. And why some of the sects elevate 
their prejudice against it into a dogma, is one of those things 
past finding out. 

The Church, then, as we Catholics freely admit, has and 
does change in its discipline. Like the tree that year after 
year puts forth new leaves, the Church will continue to 
abrogate old and make new laws, according as the circum- 
stances of time and place may require. 

But, in essentials, it will remain indefectible, immutable, 
until the archangel's trumpet shall have sounded, and then, 
like the fallen tree, the grandest organization ever known 
amongst men, will have place no more upon this earth. 

In our next we will institute a comparison between the 
public worship of the Church in its infancy, and as it is at 
the present day. 



522 



ALETHAURION. 



CHAPTER CXXIL 



SOME CHANGES IN THE MODE OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

In the gospel of St. Matthew we read, that the Saviour 
on the night before he died, whilst seated with the twelve at 
table, "took bread and blessed and broke and gave to his< 
disciples, and said : 'Take ye and eat ; this is my body.' 
And taking the chalice he gave thanks, and gave to them 
saying : 'Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the 
New Testament, which shall be shed for many for the re- 
mission of sins.' " Matt, xxvi, 26, 28. 

The same account is given substantially in the gospels of 
Sts. Mark and Luke, and I Cor., xi. On the occasion 
alluded to, mass was said for the first time ; the Saviour in 
person, High Priest, forever, according to the order of 
Melchisedec, being celebrant, and the Apostles communi- 
cants. 

Not wishing to discuss here the doctrine of the real pres- 
ence, nor to show that in the mass there is offered to God a 
true sacrifice, we shall content ourselves with instituting a. 
comparison between the Avays of conducting the public wor- 
ship then and now. 

Mass, as first said, was essentially the same as it is to-day ; 
the priest is the same, the words and sacrificial act are in 
nowise different. Yet, to the outward eye, there is a vast 
change. 

A liturgy has been formed and ceremonies have been in- 
troduced that give offense to heretics. They are continually 
jabbering about simplicity, forgetting that Christ always- 
spoke and acted as God. 

The commander-in-chief of an army does not employ hi* 
time in drilling lecruits, teaching this one how to hold his 



ALETHAUEION. 523 

gun, and that one how to wear his hat. Such things are 
entrusted to the care of inferior officers. 

Yet, the general is not indifferent ; on the contrary, he 
takes care to see that his soldiers are well able to handle 
their arms, and capable of executing military evolutions with 
ease and rapidity. 

Thus also the Saviour, the head of the Church, whilst in 
this life, did not concern Himself to any great extent with 
matters of mere ceremony ; but He left with His Apostles, 
inspired by the Holy Ghost, and with the Church which He 
founded, the right and authority to introduce such as would 
be most suitable. 

Hence we find that, at the beginning of the fourth cen- 
tury, when peace was given, there was a liturgy and cere- 
monies dating back almost or quite to the Apostles. 

Thus, in the matter of which we are speaking, there has 
been an evolution, so to speak ; the grain of mustard seed 
sown in the earth has grown up and become greater than all 
the herbs, and has shot out great branches so that the birds 
of the air may dwell under its shadow. Mark, iv. 

The man who is scandalized at the present magnificence 
of Catholic worship, and whines for primitive simplicity, 
may well be likened to him who would cut down the lordly 
oak, and then go rooting in the ground to find the acorn 
from which it sprung. 

But let us come to concrete analysis. Suppose some 
biblical backwoodsman, who had never before been inside 
of a Catholic Church, should, on a fine Sunday morning, 
enter one of our places of worship. What is the first thing 
that would attract his attention ? 

Most probably it would be the great number of lights he 
would see burning around the altar. And, if of a Yankee 
turn of mind, he would naturally ask the question : To what 
purpose are all those lights in daytime? 

Let us, as far as we can, give him a reasonable answer to 
bis question. 



I 



524 



ALETHAURION. 



First of all, he must be told that in the early ages of 
Christianity, those who professed it did not enjoy the liberty 
of worshipping God in broad daylight. If they had 
attempted to do so, their pagan neighbors would have had 
them arrested and put to death. 

It was only in the dark depths of the Catacombs, or in 
places equally obscure, that they could feel safe whilst cele- 
brating or being present at the sacred mysteries. 

And at the present day, in passing through the Catacombs 
of St.. Calixtus, one may find little chapels, where mass was 
celebrated in early days, the altar being the tomb of some 
one of the martyrs. Hence the necessity and origin of 
lights around the altars. 

Even after the persecutions had ceased, the use of lights 
was still continued, for the churches in primitive times were 
purposely so constructed as to admit but little light from the 
outside. It was supposed that houses so built would be 
most favorable to recollection of spirit. 

Yet it is not alone for utility sake, not alone for the orna- 
mentation of our altars, that we still continue the use of 
lights. There is also another reason. Who is it that can 
be ignorant of the fact that at least one way of honoring 
those who are esteemed worthy, is by means of fire and 
lights. 

Light is a sign of joy and gladness, and hence, on great 
public occasions, when there is question of celebrating some 
remarkable event, when popular feeling is brought up to a 
high state of excitement, by reason of some victory gained, 
such joy is manifested externally by bonfires and by the 
illumination of houses. 

We, on the same principle, use lights in our Churches to 
honor God, who, though He fills the universe with His 
majesty, is present in a special manner in those houses where 
we worship Him. 

This custom of using lights during time of divine service, 
we find to have been practiced from the earliest times, not 



ALETHAURION. 



525 



alone in the Church of Eome, but also in the Oriental 
Churches, which have rites and ceremonies coming down, 
from apostolic times. 

St. Jerome, who nourished during the fourth century, 
says, in vol. iv, part i, page 284, of his works, that in his 
time, throughout the East, candles were used in the churches 
in broad daylight, not so much to dispel the darkness, as for 
a sign of joy, and in order to represent by the sensible light 
that other interior one, of which the Psalmist speaks when 
he says: 

4 'Thy word, O Lord, is as a torch which enlightens me and directs my 
steps in the paths of virtue." 

The lighted candles remind us of Christ, who is the true 
light which enlightens every man coming into this world ; 
and that it is from Him we receive the light of faith here r 
and will receive the light of glory hereafter. 

The next thing that would be likely to arrest the attention 
of our backwoodsman, on entering a Catholic Church for 
the first time, would most likely be the great number of 
crosses, pictures and statues he would find therein. 

And we may conceive him as reasoning thus with himself : 
Is it then really true that these Catholics worship pictures 
and statues, as I have often heard Brother Spriggins say 
they do ? 

We may answer : It is quite possible for men to worship 
pictures and statues, for we know, from very authentic 
sources, that the Pagans of ancient times did so, and that 
men who were giants intellectually, were idolators notwith- 
standing. 

But no Catholic pays supreme homage to a picture or 
statue. We give them an inferior honor, because they 
relate to Christ and His saints. And if a man is not hope- 
lessly drunk with prejudice, he will readily see how very 
appropriately such an honor is bestowed. 

To illustrate: The writer has found in the houses of 



526 



ALETHAURION . 



Methodists pictures of John Wesley, and in those of Camp- 
bellites, likenesses of Alexander Campbell. Did he sup- 
pose for a moment that they worshipped those pictures ? By 
no means. Why then are they kept? It is because the 
Methodist wishes to honor the memory of Wesley, who 
founded his Church, and the Campbellite wishes to do the 
fair thing by his man, Campbell. 

On the same principle we Catholics retain in our places of 
worship the pictures and statues of Christ, for He was the 
founder of our Church. 

As regards the cross, much need not be said. Every sen- 
sible man ought to see at a glance how appropriate is its 
presence in a Christian Church. Every time we look upon 
the cross, we are reminded of Calvary and of the redemption 
of the human race. 

Hence we put that sacred emblem on the pinnacles of 
our steeples, and on the tops of our altars, and in other con- 
spicuous places about our Churches. And it is astonishing 
that the heretics themselves do not see what a fund of ridi- 
cule there is in the practice of putting weather-cocks on the 
tops of meeting houses. 

As regards the sign of the cross, which is made by putting 
the right hand to the forehead, breast, right and left shoul- 
ders, with the words: "In the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost," which our backwoodsman 
may have also noticed, we may quote for his benefit, and in 
proof of its antiquity, the words of Tertulliax, a Christian 
writer of the second century. In his book (De Corona, 
chap, iv.) speaking of this practice, he says : 

"At the beginning of all our actions, on entering our houses, and on 
going out, when putting on our clothes, when laying them aside, at table, 
when we take a seat or a light, we make the sign of cross on our fore- 
heads. These practices are not commanded by a formal law of Scripture, 
but we are taught them by tradition ; custom confirms them, and the 
faith observes them." 

It is worthy of remark that Tertullian does not say that 



ALETHAURION. 



527 



-the practice began in his time, but refers it to a yet more re- 
mote date. 

Indeed, it is certain that it was the Apostles themselves 
who first taught the people to make the sign of the cross, 
for otherwise it would never have gained such universality. 

Our next will be a continuation. 



CHAPTER CXXIII. 



THE USE OF THE LATIN IN THE PUBLIC SERVICES OF THE 

CHURCH. 

Another of those things likely to arrest the attention of a 
backwoodsman, attending public worship for the first time 
in a Catholic Church, would be the fact that the officiat- 
ing minister speaks in a language to him strange and 
unknown . 

This is one of the proofs of our antiquity. It shows that 
our rites and ceremonies go back to a period when the Latin 
was the living tongue. 

If the Catholic Church had, like most of the sects, begun 
its existence within the past two or three hundred years, in 
England or this country, then the English, in all probability, 
would be the language used. 

© © 

But such is not the case. The Catholic Church began its 

© 

career long before there was an English language. This 

happened at a period when Rome was at the heighth of its 

power and splendor ; when the Latin and Greek- were the 

languages of the civilized world. 
© © 

And if that backwoodsman should not happen to know 
much about Latin, or its history, it would be well to tell him 
-that it is one of the noblest tongues ever spoken. 

It was the language of the greatest race of men known to 
liistory, the Roman people, the conquerors of all nations, 



528 



ALETHAURION. 



who by valor in war, and wise moderation in peace, ruled 
the world. 

Whose generals, statesmen, orators, poets and philoso- 
phers have never been surpassed and seldom equalled ; who 
in their better and purer days, took nothing from their 
enemies but their arms and the power of doing harm ; 
whose motto it was to humble the proud and spare the 
vanquished. 

It is the language of this great people that we use to-day 
in the public services of the Catholic Church. Christianity 
took it captive, as it did that mighty Rome where it had its 
birth and development. 

The Latin is by excellence the language of the Church. 
Yet in this connection, it may be well not to omit stating 
that it is not the only one employed. The ancient Greek, 
Syriac and Coptic share with it this honor. 

These also have liturgies coming down from apostolic 
times, though as regards the last, or Coptic, there are some 
doubts among the learned as to whether the liturgy in it is 
of equal date with the others. It would not be an easy 
task to show that it is, and would be still a more difficult one 
to prove that it is not. 

Let us say a word or two concerning those different litur- 
gies. 

In the days of the Apostles, the ancient Greek was spoken 
not only in Greece proper, and on the coast of Asia Minor, 
but was also pretty well known among the higher classes in 
all the principal cities throughout the oriental countries ; 
it having been introduced there and rendered respectable 
by the valor and genius of Alexander the Great, and his 
successors. 

Hence the apostles established in the Greek a liturgy, 
which has come down, with some changes, to our own times. 
So also throughout Syria, Palestine and other Asiatic coun- 
tries, the Syriac, having been in use among the masses, has 
a liturgy dating back to the apostles. 



ALETHAURION. 



529 



These are the only three liturgies that are certainly of 
apostolic origin. 

As regards the Coptic, which is an amalgam of the Greek 
and the ancient language of Egypt, spoken by the common 
people in the latter country, at the commencement of our 
era, it is not certain whether its liturgy is apostolic or only 
a translation. 

To the four languages mentioned, may be added the 
Armenian, Ethiopian and Sclavonic. The first two of which 
have each a liturgy dating back to the fourth century, and 
the last one had its origin in the ninth. 

Thus besides the Latin, there are six other languages 
that have liturgies of their own ; and in which priests say- 
Mass. 

A few years ago, we noticed in oue of the daily papers,, 
a proposition made, or said to have been, by some promi- 
nent Anglicans to the authorities at Rome. It was to the 
effect, that if certain concessions were made, they would 
all become good Catholics. As nearly as we can now 
recollect, one of the conditions was, that the liturgy be 
translated into English, and an Anglo-Saxon rite formally 
inaugurated. 

If such a proposition had been made in good faith, from 
true religious motives, and by persons who could command 
a following, no doubt, for the sake of the souls concerned, 
it would have met with a favorable hearing at Rome. 

But it is too clear to any one, except an idiot, that such, 
advances spring from a sickly sentimentality which ends in 
froth only. If the writer understands what true Christian- 
ity is, and he thinks he does, it is the principal above all , 
others most antagonistic to pride of race and conceit of 
wealth. 

It was a boorish soggy pride that made John Bull apos- 
tatize in the first place ; and he must learn who he is, and 
what the Catholic Church is, before he again becomes a fit 
subject for it and for heaven. 



530 



ALETHAURION . 



Hence, as it is not likely that Eome will add fuel to the 
flame by gratifying the vanity of a handful of heretical 
preachers, it is likewise not probable that we will have an 
Anglo-Saxon liturgy in our day. 

Notwithstanding what has been said regarding the Syriac, 
Greek, Coptic, Ethiopian, Armenian and Sclavonic, Latin 
is still, by excellence, the language of the Church, for the 
Pope, and by far the greater number of bishops as well as 
people belong to that rite. 

Now, some one may say, have not those Greeks and 
Orientals an advantage over the Catholic laity in the Latin 
Church, inasmuch as they have liturgies in their own lan- 
guages ? 4 

We may reply : If it be an advantage that the people 
understand what the officiating minister says at the altar, 
those of whom we speak do not possess it to any greater 
degree than is enjoyed among the Latins. 

Modern Greek, called Romaic, is as different from the 
ancient, as Italian is from Latin. And as to the Syriac, 
Coptic, Armenian, Ethiopian and Sclavonic, they are also 
either dead languages or so changed that they are no longer 
intelligible to the masses of the people. 

In an institution like the Catholic Church, which has 
lived, and is to live for ages, teaching always the same 
truths, every one not blinded by prejudice will see at once 
the importance of having one or more unchangeable lan- 
guages to serve as repositories for truths that must not be 
tampered with. 

True, the Church might throw all those ancient liturgies 
overboard and still teach the way of salvation with a liturgy 
in each modern tongue. Yet, such a course would entail 
endless labor ; for the liturgies and authorized versions of 
the Scripture would have to be changed according as each 
language changed. 

And, that the reader may have ocular demonstration of 
the mutations that may, in the course of centuries, take 



ALETHAURION. 



531 



place in a living tongue we submit here for his observation 

a sentence taken from the beginning of King Alfred's 

translation of Boetius. It runs as follows : 

" On thare tide the Gotan of Scidhdhiu — Moegdhe widh Romana-rice 
gewin upahofon, and midheoracyningum, Roedgota and Eallerica waeron 
liatne, Romana-burh abrnecon, and eall Italia-rice, that is betwux tham 
inuntum andSicilia tham ealonde, in anwald gerehton." 

The English language of a thousand years hence will proba- 
bly be as different from ours as ours is from that of Alfred. 
It is a well-known fact that in a living language not only the 
pronunciation of many words changes, but the meaning also, 
in a comparatively short space of time. 

The writer has never been able to see very clearly on what 
the opposition of heretics to the liturgy in a dead language 
is based. Do they mean to insinuate that the Omniscient 
does not understand prayers said in Latin, Greek or Syriac? 



CHAPTER CXXIV. 



THE USE OF SACRED VFSTMENTS IN THE PUBLIC WORSHIP. 

A backwoodsman, entering a Catholic Church for the first 
time, during divine service, would also most probably be 
very much impressed, not alone by the reverential bearing 
of the officiating ministers and people, but likewise by the 
peculiar garments worn by the former. 

And comparisons, which are said to be odious, would sug- 
gest themselves. But, as we intend, in our next number, to 
call attention to the modes of conducting public worship 
amongst sectarians, we shall content ourselves at present 
with giving our backwoodsman some ideas regarding the 
antiquity and propriety of those garments. 

Judging from what we read in the book of Revelations, it 
would appear that the use of sacred vestments is almost, if 
not quite, as old as Christianity. St. John the Evangelist, in 



532 



ALETHAURION. 



the book referred to, speaking of a vision which he had, 
whilst on the island of Patmos, says : 

" I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I saw seven golden can- 
dlesticks ; and in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, one like 
unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded 
under the arms with agolden girdle."' Rev. i 10-13. 
Again : 

; ' After these things I saw: and, behold, a door opened in heaven : 
and the first voice which I heard, was as it were, of a trumpet speaking 
with me, saying: Come up thither, and I will show thee things which 
must come to pass hereafter. And immediately 1 was in the spirit : and 
behold, there was a throne set in heaven, and one sitting upon 
the throne. And he that sat was to the sight like the jas- 
per and the sardine-stone; and there was a rainbow round 
about the throne in sight like to an emerald. And round about 
the throne were four and twenty seats ; and upon the seats, four and 
twenty ancients sitting, clothed in white garments and golden crowns on 
their heads." Rev. iv, 1-4. 

In these visions we have the head of the Church, Christ 
himself, as well as the ancients that surrounded His throne, 
represented as clad in sacerdotal robes. 

Rigorously speaking, however, the visions do not show 
conclusively that such garments were used at the celebra- 
tion of the divine m} r steries in the days of St. Johx ; for 
the description is not of earthly but of heavenly scenes. But 
we have enough to enable us to draw a very favorable 
inference. 

Indeed it is not at all an easy matter to give specific and 
positive proofs that the Apostles used any others besides 
their ordinary garments during time of divine service. And 
yet, it would be a more hazardous undertaking, should any 
one attempt to prove that they did not. 

Hence, in default of proof either way, we may be 
allowed to theorize. If we take into consideration the im- 
portance attached from the very beginning, to the com- 
memoration of the last supper of our Lord, it would not be 
a stretch of imagination, but rather a true insight into human 
nature, if one should say that in those houses, private at that 
time, where the faithful were accustomed to meet, there was 



ALETH AURION . 



533 



kept a mantle or cloak of some kind, to be used over his 
ordinary garments by the officiating minister. 

Propriety and a becoming sense of decency in the divine 
worship would easily have suggested such a thing. That 
sectarian preacher who, a few weeks ago, refused to put in 
an appearance in his pulpit until his people had got him a 
new suit of clothes, showed his appreciation at least of the 
importance of his position. 

And it must not be presumed that the Apostles and other 
early bishops of the Church had less respect for the holy 
table at which they officiated than he had for his pulpit. 
Such a mantle or cloak being once introduced, we may easily 
imagine the rest. 

The piety and taste of devout women, skillful with the 
needle, who ministered to the wants of the churches, would 
have embroidered those garments, and thus in a very short 
time they would have become sanctified, in the eyes of the 
people, by their use in the celebration of the divine mysteries. 

This appears to the writer to be the true theory of the origin 
of sacerdotal robes in the New Dispensation. Some may wish 
to go farther back, and connect the use of our sacred vest- 
ments with the command given by God to Moses, (Exodus 
xxviii,) respecting the official robes to be worn by Aaron 
and his sons. 

But, as the ceremonial law of the Jews ceased to have 
binding force with the Saviour's death, we can hardly regard 
that command as the cause or even the occasion of sacerdotal 
robes in the New Law. 

The same motive which influenced Moses in this matter, 
viz : a wish to inspire the people with respect for the public 
worship, and the priests themselves with an idea of the sub- 
limity of their office, could also have had an independent 
influence in shaping the conduct of the Christian hierarchy 
in primitive times. 

Whatever may be said of the use of sacred vestments 
during the centuries of the Pagan persecutions, it is certain 



534 



ALETHAURION. 



that no sooner had permission been granted to the Christians 
to worship freely : n b^oad day-light than we find a becoming 
splendor in the ceremonies of the Church, and a richness 
and magnificence in the official robes of its ministers. 

Theodoret (Hist.Eccl., ii, 27) tells us how Constantine, 
the first Catholic Emperor of Rome, made a present of a 
robe of gold cloth to the bishop of Jerusalem, to be used by 
him in administering the sacrament of baptism. 

Bingham (Orig. Eccles., xiii, 8) gives many other exam- 
ples, taken from authors of the fourth century ; yet 
insinuates at the same time that no vestige of the practice 
can be found in the history of the three preceding centuries. 

But Bixgham should know that, from the fact that no ex- 
press mention is made of sacerdotal robes by writers of the 
first, second and third centuries, it by no means follows that 
such garments were not in common use. 

Apropos of what has been thus far said, we may here 
insert a quotation from the learned Fleuky : 

" From the early days of the Church," says he, " the bishops, priests 
and other ministers dressed in brilliant robes, specially suited to their office. 

* * * Xot that these garments were of an extraordinary shape. 
The chasuble was the ordinary dress in the time of St. Augustine; the 
dalmatic was in use from the days of the Emperor Valerian ; the stole 
was a common mantle worn even by women; finally, the maniple was 
only a linen cloth which the ministers of the altar carried in their hands, 
to serve them at the holy table. The alb itself, was at first, not peculiar 
to clerics. But, after these had become accustomed to wear it continually, 
it was recommended that priests should have another, to be used exclus- 
ively at the altar, so that it might be clean. Thus also it is probable that 
at the time when priests wore the chasuble or dalmatic every day, they 
had others, made of richer material and more attractive as to color, but 
of the same shape, to be used only at the altar." • (Mceurs des Chret. 41.) 

Not a few authors, amongst whom St. Germain, 
patriarch of Constantinople, a writer of the eighth century, 
have given to each vestment a mystic signification. 

The stole, according to him, represents the humanity of 
Christ, sprinkled with His blood ; the alb is a symbol of 
the innocent lives which Ecclesiastics should lead ; the cinc- 
ture represents the cords with which the Saviour was bound ; 



ALETHAUEION. 



535 



and the chasuble stands for the purple robe thrown over 
Him, in mockery, whilst in the house of Pilate. 

The destructive genius of Protestantism has, with a few- 
exceptions, banished all those sacred robes and ornaments 
from their churches, leaving only the bare walls, the 
bertehes, and a preacher in claw-hammer coat and breeches, 
to shout from that roost they call the pulpit. This is apos- 
tolic simplicity with a vengeance. 

The greater part of our next will be description of a 
camp-meeting. 



CHAPTER CXXY. 



THE PUBLIC WORSHIP AMONGST SECTARIANS DESCRIPTION 

OF A CAMP-MEETING . 

Having spoken of divine services as conducted in the 
Catholic Church, we shall now finish the subject with a 
few remarks on the mode of public worship amongst 
sectarians. 

Ultra-Protestantism, which is closely allied to Infidelity,, 
has done away with almost everything calculated to arouse 
the true religious sentiment within the human breast. 

Its meeting houses, even when new, are but sign-posts to 
desolation ; and the thumping and screaming of the 
preacher, exciting his hearers to hatred against the true faith 
or against some rival sect, carry the imagination to the 
abodes of the damned, rather than to the blessed mansions 
of the angels. 

Protestantism has no sacrifice, no priesthood. It has no 
one who can say with authority from on high to the dying 
sinner: "I absolve thee from thy sins." Its commemor- 
ation of the Last Supper is only a parody on Mass. Its 
whole being and entity is like every work of the devil ; a 
sham and a snare. 



536 



ALETHAURION. 



We had intended at first to have given, from fragmentary 
hearsay, and imperfect personal observation made years ago, 
a true account of all that would be likely to arrest the 
attention of a Catholic witnessing for the first time some of 
the maneuvers of heresy. But as such an attempt might 
lead to a suspicion of exaggeration, we prefer presenting to 
the reader what another, a disinterested man of the world 
has written on the subject. 

Camp-meetings give us true pictures of ultra-Protestan- 
ism ; and, in studying their development we get to the quint- 
essence of heresy, viz : private interpretation of the Scrip- 
tures, and a supposed divine inspiration of the individual. 

The following description of one of those camp-meetings, 
is from the pen of an eye witness. The writer has made no 
essential change in the text, but only abbreviated. 

44 On approaching the camp-ground," says he, 4 ' every- 
thing seemed in confusion. Some were eating, some talking, 
some smoking, some in the tents singing — some praying. 

44 In this confusion a few toots from the bugle brought 
the people streaming from all parts to seats under the arbor. 
Six preachers next took their seats in and near the pulpit. 
A hvmn having been sung, one of the ministers arose and 
read another. The congregation stood up and joined in. 

" Another hymn, and then the minister read his text. He 
related some death-bed scenes in a tone and manner that 
made some women scream. At the recital of one of his 
anecdotes several shouted, some clapped their hands and one 
woman swooned. The excitement became so great and the 
noise so loud I had to draw nearer the stand to hear what 
the speaker was saying. 

44 He was a man some five feet ten inches high, full chest, 
small head, retreating forehead, large mouth, thick neck, 
fiery eyes and strong voice. Towards the conclusion of his 
discourse he kicked, struck his breast and appeared greatly 
•excited, and concluded by inviting mourners to the altar of 
prayer. 



ALETHAUEION . 



537 



"The singers struck up a hymn, and the pen in front, 
called the altar, having been cleared, several came forward. 
Mothers started for their sons, sisters for their brothers, and 
some for other friends. They seized them by the hands 
and dragged them into the altar. 

44 One refused to go but others pushed him, whilst a 
fourth beat time on the smitten mourner's back. At this 
juncture questions were asked and answered to the satisfac- 
tion of the inquirers ; and it was announced that another 
soul was converted. This swelled the volume of frenzy, and 
singing, praying, groaning and shouting followed. 

44 After this scene of confusion had begun to subside a 
brother w 7 as called on to pray. He commenced in a soft 
and subdued tone, but soon his petitions, w T ere drowned in 
an ocean of 4 Aniens.' Gradually warming up to his work, 
his voice became louder and louder, until the ravings of a 
maniac could scarcely have equalled the flow of his peti- 
tions. 

4 ' Suddenly he stopped, but in a moment the operators 
were on their feet singing and crying out ' Amen, Lord !' 
4 God grant it ! ' 4 Yes Lord ! ' and such like expressions, 
uttered with every imaginable emphasis and intonation, till 
the frenzy got beyond all control. It seemed as if Bedlam 
bad been let loose. 

44 Every violent distortion, every frenzied expression of 
the countenance, every conceivable intonation of the voice 
were seen and heard, blended in one indescribable scene of 
the most fanatical and harrowing excess. They jumped and 
yelled, and barked and groaned, and grunted, howled and 
screamed, cried and laughed, tumbled and rolled over one 
another — men, women and children, as if reason had been 
dethroned and the mind had become chaos. 

44 Amid this confusion, a trumpet-lunged brother cried 
out for more straw. (The straw had become wet from a 
recent shower). Adding that some of the poor mourners 
might be lost for the want of straw. 4 Straw ! straw ! more 



538 



ALETHAURION. 



straw!' said he. 4 Yes,' answered one in the pen, 4 We 
want more straw. We are going to have a ground. scuffle 
with the devil here to-night.' 

44 In the meanwhile some were working off their super- 
abundant religion, like a locomotive with too big a head of 
steam on, by shouting, 4 Glory ! hallelujah ! ' Others in 
spasmodic jerkings, kickings, and tossing of their arms. 

44 Another cried out suddenly : 4 Shout ! shout ! the devil's 
about ! ' 4 Yes.' responded a third, 4 the devil is here, breth- 
ren ; and I'll drive him off ! ' Taking his cane he began to 
strike here and there at a round rate, running and turning, 
and striking on the ground as he went, first on one side and 
then on the other. 'There he goes ! there he goes!' said 
he, 4 he's gone; thank God ! Amen! Hallelujah?' Then 
followed a scene of wild excitement that is indescribable. 

44 After this a fiery class-leader was called on to pray. By 
rubbing and clapping his hands and sucking in the wind, he 
soon got up steam and prayed for arrows of conviction. 
4 Yes, Lord," said a brother 4 let them fly thick and fast ! ' 
4 Amen ! ' said another. 4 Send them now Lord ! just now T 
at this particular instant !' 

44 About this time one of the mourners gave indications of 
the working of his faith by tossing his arms about and kick- 
ing. He foamed at the mouth, his teeth were set, and his 
fists clenched ; reminding one of the man possessed by the 
devil, mentioned in the Scriptures. Directly he shouted, 
4 Glory ! glory ! hallelujah ! ' 

44 The brethren and sisters gathered around, some laugh- 
ing, some shouting 4 Glory to the Lord ! another sinner has 
got religion ! ' The effect was electrical. Some dozen 
females were seized with spasmodic religion. They 
groaned and screamed and howled and jumped ; clapped 
their hands, fell down, and enacted scenes shocking to 
modesty. 

44 About this time a messenger arrived, and calling to one 
of the women rolling about in the pen, so happy that she 



ALETHAUKION. 



539 



had probably forgotten that she had either feet or legs, and 
told her 4 that Tom had got religion.' She sprang to her 
feet and cried, 4 Glory be to God ! Tom's got religion ! 
Glory! glory! glory! Where's Tom? Where's Tom? 
Glory! hallelujah!' 

44 In the midst of this excitement, one who seemed to be 
general manager, gave a few toots on the bugle, and in an 
instant all was quiet ; the congregation broke up and struck 
for the tents, and I for the inn. 

" I attended the meeting again on the following night. A 
tall slender man delivered a discourse, which, though argu- 
mentative and good, produced no marked impression. He 
sat down, and another minister arose, singing an exciting- 
song. 

44 The latter was a high-chested and tough-lunged citizen, 
with stentorian voice. The song concluded, he commenced 
his exhortation by rubbing his hands, sucking the wind, and 
stamping with his feet. He related anecdotes of death-bed 
scenes. 

"Some groaned, one ejaculated, 4 Fire, Lord ! fire!'' 
4 Amen,' shouted another; 4 send down the Holy Ghost, 
Lord with power ! cried a third ; 4 Let him come now, just 
now, this very minute, this particular second. 4 Amen,' 
shouted a fourth brother. Mourners were called for, and a 
few marched into the straw altar. They prayed and sans;,, 
but every thing seemed to drag. 

44 A new thought suddenly struck the mind of one of the 
veteran operators. 4 For some reason brethren,' said he, 
* God has withdrawn his presence from us.' * That's true* 
that's true,' responded another. 4 That's so,' cried a third. 
4 1 believe he is somewhere, not far off,' suggested another, 
6 Let's go and hunt him.' 

44 In a minute quite a number were engaged in the search. 
One went to a bushy-topped sapling, and looking up, cried 
out, 4 Jesus, are you up there?' then he commenced 
barking up the tree and saying: 4 Brethren, He's up here.' 



540 



ALETHAURION. 



" The others had now got to the tree, and all the brethren 
barked, to bring down the Lord. 4 There He goes, right 
straight to the altar,' cried one of the hunters, and away 
they started for the altar. 

"When things had gone on in this way for sometime, one 
of the leaders cried out, 'Shout! shout! we are gaining 
ground.' The effect was electrical. Some females sprang 
to their feet and began to shout. 'Glory ! glory ! I have got 
religion ! Glory.' 

"It was now necessary to change the meeting. The gen- 
eral squeeze and roll and tumble, which had been so long 
and so energetically kept up, together with the hugging, in 
w r hich their spiritual affection liked so well to indulge, and 
which they seemed so much to enjoy, both men and women, 
had completely exhausted the operators. Orders were then 
issued to change into a class-meeting." 

Such is a description of sectarian public worship, from the 
pen of an eye witness ; and he very justly observes, in con- 
clusion, that, if the scenes usually enacted at camp-meetings 
were dramatically represented, the most bitter Infidel could 
not desire a better burlesque on Christianity. 

In our next we treat of the infallibility of the Church. 



CHAPTER CXXYI. 



CONCERNING THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 

Having spoken of the indefectibility of the Church of 
Christ, we now approach a yet more interesting and useful 
question, viz : its infallibility. 

We need not dilate upon the importance of this subject ; 
for, it must be clear to every one, that, to prove the Church 
of Christ infallible, is to deal a death. blow to heresy. 

As in this and some following papers our game will be 
heretics, and not Atheists nor Deists, we take for granted, 

4 



ALETHAURION. 



541 



first: the existence of a personal God, All-^ise and All- 
powerful ; and, in the second place, we assume as conceded, 
the fact that He has revealed His will, or at least a part of 
it, to man. 

The Atheist denies there is a God at all ; whilst the Deist 
though accepting that great truth, yet refuses to admit that 
the Supreme Being has ever revealed His will to man in any 
other way than through the material universe. The book 
of nature is the Bible of the Deist, and he will not acknowl- 
edge that any other contains the will of the Creator. 

Hence, taking for granted that God has given to man a 
revelation, we shall inquire whether such was intrusted to 
private individuals, to be interpreted privately, or to some 
public, everlasting, and infallible society, divinely founded 
for the purpose of preserving and explaining it to man- 
kind. 

We here speak exclusively of that revelation which is con- 
tained in the Scriptures, and in the divine traditions of the 
Church. With those other special manifestations of His 
will, which God has, from time to time, made to chosen 
souls, we have nothing to do just now. 

Thus, e. g. we Catholics believe, as a fact of history, that 
God made known to Pope Pius V., immediately after the 
battle, that his fleet had gained a victory over the Turks. But 
that particular revelation is no part of our Faith, which 
only embraces what was revealed to the prophets and Apos- 
tles. 

God is certainly no less adorable in His special revelations 
than in those which form the substance of our Faith ; yet 
He does not impose upon us the obligation of believing the 
former, unless we have a mind to, whereas the latter we are 
bound to accept or be lost eternally. " He that believeth 
not shall be condemned." Mark, xvi, 16. 

Hence, if one of the faithful should say : I do not believe 
that God made such a revelation to Pius V. ; I am rather 
disposed to think it was nothing more than a mere dream ; 



542 



ATiETH AUKION . 



his language, though offensive to pious ears, would not be 
heretical . 

But if that man should say, I do not believe that angels 
appeared at or near Bethlehem on the night the Saviour was 
born, he would be guilty of heresy, and as deserving the 
name of heretic, as Luther. Why? Because he impiously 
assumes the right to discriminate in matters that he should 
wholly accept, in as much as a part of the deposit of Faith. 

The reader will gather from this, that by revelation, we 
do not here understand everything that God has made known 
to men, either naturally or supernaturally, but only what he 
revealed to the Prophets and Apostles. 

The conservation and propagation of the truths contained 
in this we maintain have been entrusted to a divinely consti- 
tuted infallible authority, for the following reasons: 

First, without such an eternal, public and infallible au- 
thority we could never be absolutely certain regarding the 
identity of the revelation itself. There would always be 
room for doubt as to whether the Scriptures we now possess 
contain exactly what the Prophets and Apostles wrote. 

A word or two left out of a sentence will often change its 
meaning, and the addition of a single letter, in some cases, 
could give a passage in the original Greek or Hebrew a dif- 
ferent signification from what the author intended. 

Kor would it be possible to refer to the apostolic manu- 
scripts, for it is conceded that they no longer exist. Consult 
Cellerier : ( Essai oVune introduction critique au Nouveau 
Testament, Sec. Hi.) 

If you ask a Protestant to tell you how he knows that the 
epistle of St. Paul to the Eomans is what the Apostle wrote, 
he will never give you a straight answer, simply because he 
cannot without committing himself to the doctrine of an in- 
fallible living authority. 

If you ask a Catholic the same question, he will answer 
you at once : I know that tl^e epistle to the Romans is the 



ALETHAURION. 



543 



genuine work of St. Paul, and that, substantially, it con- 
tains nothing more nor less than what he wrote, because the 
Church is voucher for its authenticity and integrity. She 
has preserved that and other portions of Scripture, just as an 
^orator keeps the manuscript notes of his speeches. She 
knows the hand-writing of all her children, and no forgery 
can pass current within her domain. 

The Protestant who does not admit the existence of an in- 
fallible authority having guardianship over the Scriptures, 
cannot have even the same certitude regarding their purity 
that one may have of that of the Eneid, or of the Iliad ; for not 
one man in a million could have successfully interpolated 
either of them, on account of the style and subject matter, 
whereas with our Scriptures the case is altogether different. 

To garble and interpolate would, absolutely speaking, have 
been the easiest feat imaginable. And, considering the num- 
ber of discordant sects, existing in primitive times, it will 
readily be understood that motives for making essential 
changes could not have been wanting. 

Were it not for the authority of the Catholic Church, the 
New Testament would, of all the books that have come down 
-to us from ancient times, be the most open to suspicion. 

Second : Even though it should be granted that, by a spec- 
ial providence, the Scriptures had been kept pure up to our 
day, the fact that many passages are obscure implies the 
necessity of an authority to decide what is the true sense. 

•For a man to say that the Scriptures are so plain that any 
one can, by private interpretation, easily divine their mean- 
ing, is to assert what the experience of ages contradicts. 

The existence at this moment of scores of sects acknowl- 
edging, on the one hand, the authenticity, integrity, and in- 
spiration of the Scriptures, and on the other, warring about 
the meaning of numberless passages, knocks that theory 
higher than Donaldson's balloon. It does not deserve a 
serious answer. 

The revelation of God, to become known to us, must be 



544 



ALETHAURION, 



expressed in words ; and since words are often ambiguous, 
what would be the use of a revelation unless there be at the 
same time some infallible authority to define the exact mean- 
ing of the words in which it is expressed? 

At the capital of this State, laws are made for the govern- 
ment of our people in temporal matters. They are worded 
as plainly as possible; for our legislators do not wish that 
we should be eternally at litigation with the Commonwealth 
and with one another ; yet, the interpretation of those laws 
is not left to each individual citizen. 

We have judges to whom that business belongs, and whose 
decisions are enforced by all the power at the command of 
the chief executive. What a glorious example of anarchy 
we would have if each citizen were to take the statutes and 
interpret for himself ! And yet that is precisely the doctrine 
held and taught by sectarians, in a matter, too, of far great- 
er importance. 

Third: The revelation of God has been given not alone 
for the benefit of those that lived in times past, or may be now 
living, but likewise for the good of all who are to be until 
the end of time. 

Now, even though we should grant that at this very mo- 
ment the Scriptures be pure, setting aside the authority of 
the Church, what guarantee can we possibly have that peo- 
ple living within the next five thousand years will let them 
remain so. 

Take the Scriptures from the guardianship of that infalli- 
ble authority we speak of, and in a thousand years from 
now, not a man living would be able to tell what was or what 
was not a revelation. The manuscript codes that still exist 
will not last always, and we know how quickly the moths 
make away with paper books. 

Again : Suppose in the first place, that we do away with 
the idea of an external, infallible authority having charge of 
the Scriptures, and, in the second, that some man now living 
should take the New Testament, and, after having garbled 



ALETHAURION. 



545 



and interpolated the text, should take the pains to have his 
work engraved on tablets of silver or brass, and hidden in a 
cave. 

Suppose, in the third place, that, after the lapse of five 
thousand years, those tablets were discovered ; on Protest- 
ant principles, how would it be possible to prove that they 
were forgeries? 

After the lapse of the period spoken of, the arguments in 
favor of their authenticity would be stronger than those in 
favor of any copy that might be then extant ; for it would 
certainly be more ancient, by many hundreds of years, than 
any other public monument. 

Or, to put the same idea in another form, suppose some 
antiquarian whilst making excavations amidst the ruins of 
Ephesus, should discover a number of brazen plates, con- 
taining St. Paul's epistleto the Ephesians, but different, as 
to sense, from that we now possess ; how would it be possi- 
ble, without a living infallible authority, to decide whether 
it or ours be what St. Paul wrote ? 

It would be impossible to decide absolutely. But the prob- 
abilities would be mostly on the side of that found in the 
ruins. 

In our next we will take up and discuss some objections 
that may be brought against what has thus far been said. 



CHAPTER CXXVIL 


•SOME OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE DOCTRINE SET FORTH IN LAST 
NUMBER, VIZ : THAT THE REVELATION OF GOD HAS BEEN 
INTRUSTED NOT TO INDIVIDUALS BUT TO A PUBLIC INFAL- 
LIBLE AUTHORITY. 

It may be objected against the Catholic doctrine of an in- 
fallible public authority here on earth, that, from the time 



546 ALETHAUKION. 

of Adam to that of the Saviour, there was nothing of the kind 
to be found amongst men. 

And, if not essential during that long period of 4004 years, 
why should it be needed now? If the patriarch, that lived 
before tho time of Abraham, and the Jews that lived after, 
<;ould climb into heaven without an infallible synagogue, 
what can prevent Christians from gaining the same end with- 
out an infallible Church? 

This objection is certainly a very captious one ; but it lacks 
solidity. It is founded on the assumption that Christ either 
could not or would not establish a more perfect way than 
had been in existence before his time. 

Now, the ancient prophecies bear testimony to the contrary. 
Isaias, speaking of the times of the future Messiah, says : 

And a path and a way shall be there ; and it shall be called the holy 
way ; the unclean shall not pass over it ; and this shall be unto you a 
straight way, so that fools shall not err therein." — Isaias, xxxv, 8. 

What else can this mean but an infallible Church, within 
which not even a fool can miss his way to heaven? 

Christ, in his character of Son of God, had the right to 
inagurate the new element of infallibility, and make it a pre- 
rogative of his Church, even though the svnaofo^ue had it not. 

Moreover, in so far as it is granted to us to see into the 
designs of the Almighty, we may assign reasons to show it 
was not expedient that there should have been organized be- 
fore the Messianic period, a society infallible in the sense 
that the Church is. For at no time, before the coming of 
Christ, was revelation complete ; it was yet in a state of 
formation. 

And, as the jeweler does not suffer a watch to be taken 
from his work-shop, until every wheel and spring is in its 
place and the instrument in running order, so God had direct 
care of his revelation, until in the fullness of time, through 
his Divine Son, he perfected it ; and then only was it given 
over to the guardianship of the Church, to receive no further 
augmentation. 



ALETHAUEION. 



547 



"But though we," says St. Paul, or an angel from heaven preached a 
gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be 
anathema." — Gal. i, 8. 

For present convenience we may divide the period before 
the Saviour's advent into two epochs. The one embracing 
all those centuries from the fall of Adam to the time of 
Moses ; the other from the promulgation of the law on Mount 
Sinai to the commencement of the Saviour's public career. 

During the first of these, revelation included only a very 
few of the truths of religion, such as the belief in one God ; 
the belief in a future Redeemer, and in the doctrine of re- 
wards and punishments in the next life. 

St. Paul, (Heb, xi. 6,) sums up in a few words all that was 
necessary for belief in those patriarchal times : 

"Without faith," he says, "it is impossible to please God. For he that 
cometh to God must believe that He is, and is a rewarder of them that 
seek Him." 

These few primary truths could easily have been trans- 
mitted by oral tradition from father to son. And the fact 
that they were so few and so clean cut, made it unnecessary 
that there should have been establised at that time a public 
infallible society charged with their conservation and pro- 
pagation. 

Moreover, it is not strictly correct to say that God left his 
revelation entirely to the chances of a simple oral tradition 
before the time of Moses. 

For, as in our day, he guards its purity by the Church, 
which is the ordinary means, so, in patriarchal times, he in- 
sured the same result through the ministry of angels sent to 
encourage those who believed in His name, and to confirm 
them in the truth of all that had come down by tradition 
from Adam. 

It must also be observed that, before the time of Moses, 
there were not, as far as we know, any inspired writings 
needing a guardian to preserve their integrity and puritv. 
Hence the parallel between the patriarchal and Messianic pe- 
riods is unjust and calculated to deceive. 



548 



ALETHAURION. 



Let us now briefly consider the second epoch, viz : from 
the promulgation of the law on Mount Sinai to the beginning 
of the Saviour's public career. 

It is true that during that long period, of about fifteen hun- 
dred years, there was no permanent infallible authority, such 
as we now have in the Catholic Church ; yet, there was even 
then an institution, viz : the Aaronic priesthood, which ful- 
filled a duty with respect to the inspired writings analogous 
to that which the Church now performs. Nor did this pub- 
lic authority ever cease to exist until the kingdom of the 
Messiah had been fairly established. 

Josephus Flavius, the renowned Jewish historian and war- 
rior, gives us a list, in an uninterrupted series, of all the high 
priests from Aaron, to Annas and Caiphas, under whom 
the Saviour was put to death ; and thence to John Giscala, 
who was the last in the list of Aaron's line, during whose 
term of office Jerusalem was taken and sacked by the Romans. 

It may interest the reader that we give here the number 
of high priests, corresponding to the different epochs in Jew- 
ish history, from the time of Aaron to the final destruction 
of the temple. It is as follows : 

From Aaron to King Solomon, a period of 612 years, 13 
high priests ; from Solomon to the Babylonian captivity, 466 
years, 18 high priests ; from the Babylonian captivity to An- 
tiochus Eupator, 412 years, 15 high priests ; from Antio- 
chus to Herod II, 113 years, 15 high priests ; from Herod 
to Titus, 107 years, 28 high priests. Altogether, 89 high 
priests in a period of 1710 years. Antiquities, xx, 10. 

Thus it will be observed that, from the time of Moses to 
that of the Saviour, there was a public authority amongst 
the Jews ; w T hich same, as we are informed by the Spanish 
Jew, Salvador, was established for the purpose of preserv- 
ing the Law and keeping it free from error. Hist, of the 
Institutions of Moses, II book. 

But, though the Synagogue fulfilled a very important duty 
before the Saviour's coming, yet was not infallible, in the 



ALETHAUEION. 



549 



strict sense ; for its authority had to be complemented by a 
succession of prophets. 

The latter were sent immediately by God, and had their 
authority to act the part of reformers from Him, and not 
from the Synagogue. If the Synagogue had been a perfect, 
self-sufficient society, such as the Church now is, the Jews 
would have been excusable for not having given ear to the 
teachings of the Saviour. 

But the Jewish people never regarded the Synagogue in 
the same lio;ht that we Catholics do the Church. When a 
controversy of any magnitude arose, they looked to the au- 
thority of a prophet. 

Hence, Josephus Flavius, (Cont. Apion. i, 8,) speaking 

of those books, recognized as inspired by the Jews, uses the 

following words : 

' l We have not an inumerable multitude of books among us, disagreeing 
irom and contradicting one another, as the Greeks have, but only twenty- 
two books which contain the records of all the past times ; which are 
justly believed to be divine; and of them five belong to Moses, which 
contain his laws and the traditions of the origin of mankind till his death. 
This interval of time was little short of three thousand years ; but as to the 
time from the death of "Moses till the reign of Artaxerxes, King of Per- 
sia, who reigned after Xerxes ; the prophets who were after Moses, 
wrote down what was done in their times in thirteen books. The remain- 
ing four books contain hymns to God, and precepts for the conduct of hu- 
man life. It is true, our history has been written since Artaxerxes, 
very particularly, but hath not been esteemed of the like authority with 
the former by our forefathers, because there hath not been an exact suc- 
cession of the prophets since that time. 

The histories here spoken of by Josephus as having been 
written after the time of Artaxerxes, constitute what are 
now called the deutro-canonical books of the Old Testament. 

The Synagogue had not the authority to pronounce upon 
their inspiration ; but the Church of Christ, which is a 
prophet continuously abidingwith us, failed not to do so ages 
ago ; so that we now regard them with the same veneration 
that we do the proto-canonical books. 

Now, some one may say : Well, that theory of an oral 



550 



ALETHAURION. 



tradition, from the time of Adam to that of Moses, supple- 
mented by angel visits ; and of a public authority from the 
days of Moses to those of Christ, kept from going wrong 
by a succession of prophets, looks reasonable enough at a 
distance and in the abstract ; but if examined closely it will 
not stand the test. 

Take, for example, that period of time that elapsed from 
the death of prophet Malachy to the days of the Messiah, 
in all, about four hundred years ; what public infallible au- 
thority was there amongst the Jews during that time? 

Furthermore : In what did the Synagogue, during those 
four hundred years, differ from any Protestant church at the 
present day? 

We may reply to each of these questions as follows : 

First : We admit that the Synagogue was not infallible in 
se ; but, we maintain that God, as occasion required, made 
up for the deficiency by extraordinary means. 

The fact that no prophet appeared in Israel from the days 
of Malachy to those of Christ is of itself a proof that none 
was necessary. It is one thing to say that the Synagogue 
was infallible, and quite a different proposition to assert that 
it actually erred and led the people astray during that period. 

In the light of what the Saviour himself suid of the chair 
of Moses (Matt, xxiii, 23,) no one can safely affirm that the 
Synagogue had gone wrong up to the time those words were 
spoken. 

If it afterwards denied Christ it was not until He, by His 
mighty works, had clearly established His right to be regarded 
as a prophet ; and there was not a Jew from Dan to Beer- 
seba but knew that the authority of a prophet was greater 
than thivt of the Sjmagogue. 

Second : What difference between the Synagogue, from 
the death of the prophet Malachy to the birth of Christ, 
and one of our Protestant churches? 

Ansiver : The former genuine, the latter counterfit. The 
Aaronic priesthood was a divine institution ; Protestant 



ALETHAURION . 



551 



churches are, to say the least, of human origin. The Syna- 
gogue received directions, when such was required, from 
prophets sent of God ; Protestant churches have not the 
promise of any such assistance. Judaism was a preparation 
for the kingdom of the Messiah ; the stairway leading up to 
the church door ; heresy is a rebellion against that kingdom ; 
a pitfall to the rear of the church of God. 

In our next we will show that the Church of Christ is the 
custodian of revelation. 



CHAPTER CXXVIU. 



THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IS THE IXFALLIBLE AUTHORITY TO 
WHOSE GUARDIANSHIP THE REVELATION OF GOD HAS 
BEEN INTRUSTED, 

By the word Church, as used here, we do not mean the 
entire assembly of the faithful, but rather the universal 
episcopate or body of pastors, taken with the Roman 
pontiff. 

Now, the Apostles who, in common with Peter, their 
nead, were the first bishops of the Church received immedi- 
ately from Christ and the Holy Ghost, the fulness of Reve- 
lation. In proof of this, it will only be necessary to call 
attention to a few passages in the New Testament, which we* 
here use simply as a history, prescinding from its inspired 
character. 

"Go ye therefore," said Christ to those first bishops, "and teach all 
nations ; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost : Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I 
have commanded you ; and behold I am with you teaching and baptizing, 
all days even to the consummation of the world." — Matt, xxviii, 19-20. 

Again he sa} r s : 

"I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that 
He may abide with you forever. The Spirit of truth .... shall 
abide with you, and shall be in you.*'— John xiv, 16-17. 



552 



ALETHAURION . 



'•When the Spirit of trtith shall come He will teach you all truth." — 
John xvi, 13. 

"As the father hath sent me so also I send you." — John xx, 21. 

From these and similar texts, that might easily be adduced, 
three conclusions fpllow clearly and naturally. 

The first is, that Christ entrusted the revelation that He 
had from the Father to the Apostles. And they, with 
Peter at their head, constituted the Church of Christ, or at 
least its teaching part. Taken as a society, they were infal- 
lible, which no sectarian will deny. 

Secondly : It follows that the society or organization of 
w T hich the Apostles were the first members, the incorpora- 
tors, so to speak, was not to end with them, but was to con- 
tinue in the world, gaining new members and installino- new 
officers, according as the society extended, or as the old were 
called away by death. 

Thirdly : It follows that this society cannot at any time 
err nor lead men astray, for Christ promised to remain with 
it forever. 

That the Church of Christ is constituted the guardian of 

whatever has been revealed, is furthermore evident from 

what we read in Matt, xviii : 

"If thy brother shall offend thee," says the Saviour, "go and reprove 
him between thee and him alone. If he shall here thee, thou shalt gain 
thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two 
more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. 
And if he will not hear them, tell the Church. And if he will not hear 
the Church, let him.be to thee as the heathen and the publican." 

Sectarians maintain that everything revealed by God, as 
binding upon man, is contained in the Bible. We also hold 
that, indeed, no small portion of what He wishes us to know 
and believe, in order to be saved, is to be found either ex- 
pressly or implicitly in the same volume. 

But, instead of saying as do the sectarians, that God has 
intrusted His revelation to a book, we maintain that it has 
been given over to the care of a living and everlasting 
Society or Church. 



ALETHAUEION. 



553 



To illustrate this point more fully, let us take that case 
which occurred down at Maple Grove, some time ago. 

A member of the Church there, after having read his 
Bible over carefully, came to the conclusion that the doctrine 
of seven sacraments is clearly taught therein, and made no 
secret of his change in belief. 

His neighbor and co-religionist came to him, and, said he, 
"you must abandon such a doctrine, for } T ou ought to know 
that our Church holds those views to be false and un- 
scriptural." 

"I have made up my mind, and am satisfied that our 
Church is wrong on that point," said the other. 

Then the neighbor went off and got two or three of his 
friends, who came with him to expostulate with the erring 
brother. They found him still obdurate, and the only course 
open to them, was to tell the Church. 

The minister was accordingly notified, and requested to 
call a meeting of that body at an appointed hour on a cer- 
tain day. The erring brother was also summoned to appear 
befoie his judges, be duly tried and condemned. 

The following description of the proceedings may interest 
the reader, and we. accordingly insert it here for future 
reference : 

6 'The Elders occupied chairs in front of the pulpit, and the 
rank and file were distributed in knots all through the 
Church ; some impressed with the importance of the matter 
in hand, and others apparently indifferent. The minister 
next called the house to order, and announced that business 
would begin forthwith. 

"One of the elders, a venerable and patriarchal looking 
man, with an abundance of silvery hair floating over 
his shoulders, next arose in the assembly and spoke as 
follows : 

"My beloved friends and brethren — for sixty years save 
one, have I marked the downward course of the forest 



554 



ALETHAUEION. 



leaves, and seen these hills clothed in snow, since I, with 
fourteen others, first organized this Church. 

"Of that little band, I alone survive to see this day — the 
rest have gone to sleep beneath the sod ; and their spirits 
have been wafted to that shore where dissension and sorrow 
are unknown. They have gone to receive the reward of 
their earthly labors ; to rest forever under the shade of the 
tree of life, and quench their thirst for truth at the eternal 
fountain . 

''For many years our numbers were few and scattered;; 
our way beset with countless difficulties ; and the good Lord, 
in order to try our patience and perseverance, appeared to- 
have hidden His face from us for a season. But our con- 
cord and brotherly love impressed the unbeliever, and some 
who came on the Sabbath to scoff, remained here to inquire 
what they should do to be saved. 

"Our numbers increased steadily, and the trials of those 
early days are now almost forgotten, or mingled in my 
thoughts with other dreams of the long ago. Many eloquent 
men have stood in this pulpit ; and oftentimes has my heart 
swelled with thanksgiving and gone out in silent worship to 
the author of all good, for having vouchsafed to us His 
glorious gospel. 

"More than once have we listened to the exhortations of 
our now dissenting brother, for so I call him still, and each 
time that he mounted these steps to open that holy 
book, it seemed to me as if the current of my life had been 
reversed. 

"The looks, the action, and the voice of a father, the friend 
and companion of my youth, whom I loved, came before me 
once more in the son. Eight years ago to-day, we laid him, 
with tears in our eyes, under the shade of yonder willow. 
And, if his spirit could know what sadness is, up there, how 
sad it feels now, looking down on us, and knowing the causa 
of our coming. 



ALETHAURION. 



555 



"He was a man ever true to his convictions, and hence 
true to others. He aided to build up this Church, and its 
growth and prosperity was the object nearest to his heart. 
Schism was odious in his eyes, and he avoided the conten- 
tious as he would a leper. 

"Could it ever have entered his mind whilst in life, that 
his own son would put his hand to the work of destroying 
what he had built — to undoing what he had done? No, 
never ! 

"But why do I dwell on these unpleasant thoughts? 
The shadow of the tomb has lengthened across my pathway, 
my da} T s are almost numbered, my sun of life approaches 
the horizon and will soon sink into the ocean of eternity. 
This, my nearness to the end, is what urges me now to ful- 
fill yet one more duty ere I am called away. 

" 'Let me exhort you then clear brother, to reconsider your 
acts ; to avoid novelties in religion ; to continue still a faith- 
ful son of the Church. Walk in the path that your father 
trod. And, by the veneration you owe his memory ; by the 
love you bear your own children ; by the good example that 
you, as a Christian man, are bound to set them. I now 
adjure you not to force upon us the necessity of cutting you 
off, as a rotten branch from this Church, of which, by your 
ancestry and by your education, you should be a living 
member and a' shining light. I have done.' 

"Others next arose in order, and spoke in the same strain. 
Brother Smith was of opinion that excommunication from 
the Church would work disadvantageously from a business 
point of view. 

"Brother Brown thought that the social ostracism, which 
would result from such an act, would be worse than 
death. 

"Brother Jones declared the doctrine of seven sacraments 
to be nothing more nor less than rank popery. 

"The dissenting brother was then called upon, and he 
spoke as follows : 



556 



ALETHAURION. 



4 4 4 I willingly confess, my friends, that new* beiore in 
nay life have I experienced within my breast, sc many con- 
tending emotions. The memories of early youth, the 
friendships contracted in more advanced years, and the 
ties of blood and kindred are bonds that ought -not to be 
severed. 

4 4 'And, so far as I am concerned, they will not be, for 
I wish them to remain whilst this life shall last, to be 
strengthened and made more perfect in that beyond the 
tomb. Were I called upon to address an ordinary assembly 
upon a topic, that did not so closely concern the finer feel- 
ings of our nature, I would have no misgivings, I would 
answer arguments with arguments, and threats with defi- 
ance. 

4 4 'But, after having listened to the pathetic words and 
touching allusions of my venerable friend who first claimed 
your attention this evening, my heart way moved, and I felt 
the magnetism of a long cherished friendship drawing me 
back to where reason and conscience bade me not to stay. 
Yet I will say, that if the eloquence of man could render 
ineffective what I regard as an inspiration from above, his 
would have done so. 

4 4 4 But this is not the question. You have assembled here 
to try me for the crime of heresy, and I have come to pre- 
sent such reasons for my course as seem to me best. 

" 4 If the cradle and the coffin constituted the terms of 
human existence, and if man were not responsible to a 
higher power for the use or abuse of every light given him 
in this life, then indeed this present complication would not 
have arisen. 

4k 'I would have agreed with you in belief, or suppressed, 
for the sake of peace and friendship, each dissent of mind 
that might lead to discord. I would go peaceably with the 
current, and still continue for the future, as for the 
past, to enjoy the pleasure of your society, friendship and 
confidence. 



ALETH AURION . 



557 



" 'But I am convinced that there is a being of infinite 
power who directs the universe, and has made man a free 
and responsible agent. I am satisfied that of old, He re- 
vealed His will to the patriarchs and prophets, and, in later 
times, finished and perfected that same revelation through 
His Divine Son. I am persuaded that the system of religion 
introduced by Christ, is not a vague, but a most definite 
one. For otherwise, how could he have made the accepta- 
tion of it a condition necessary for salvation? He that 
believeth not shall be condemned. Mark xvi, 16. 

" 'In a word, I am convinced that there is here on earth, 
a living authority, with power to not only propagate and 
keep pure, but also to define exactly each point of faith. 
In my youth, I was taught to believe as you now do ; that 
the Scriptures and private interpretation were to be my 
rule. 

" 'But, as time passed on, thoughts presented themselves 
to my mind that would not let me rest. I found men of 
other denominations who professed to be guided by that 
same principle, differing with me in regard to many essential 
matters. 

" 'This led me to question the truth of lessons learned in 
early life, and I set diligently to work and studied the Scrip- 
tures more thoroughly than I had ever done before. With 
each step that I took, scales dropped from my eyes, and I 
began to see things in a new light. 

" 'I learned from those Scriptures, that Christ founded 
a Church. 'Thou art Peter,' said He, 'and upon this rock 
I will build my Church.' Matt, xvi, 18. 

" 'I next inquired whether that to which I belonged, was 
the Church which Christ established ; and here the result 
of my studies was not favorable to my preconceived notions. 
I could not trace mine, as a visible organization, further 
back than about three hundred years ; whereas, that which 
Christ founded was evidently much older. 



558 



ALETHAURIQN. 



"Yet, with all this, I tried to smother my doubts, consol- 
ing myself with the thought that the Church to which I be- 
longed believed, and practiced what the Saviour taught. 
But , upon closer investigation, I was doomed again to disap- 
pointment. I found that the Scriptures commanded me to 
hear the Church, Matt, xviii, though mine disclaimed any 
power to speak with authority on a point of belief. 

"Studying this evident contradiction, I began to suspect 
more and more strongly that mine could not be the one al- 
luded to in the Scriptures. For, if it w r ere, it could not be 
ignorant of its own prerogatives, nor refuse to exercise them 
upon suitable occasions. 

"But I was not yet fully persuaded of my errors, until I 
had taken another view of the same case, and studied my 
Church in its daily practice. Here I found the worst discrep- 
ancy of all — the Scriptures admitted to be the rule of faith, 
and yet their plainest teaching disregarded. 

" 'I found no imposition of hands to correspond w T ith what 
I read in Acts viii, 17. 

" 'The communion was held to be nothing more than a fig- 
ure of the body and blood of Christ ; though He declared 
it to be His real body and blood. Matt, xvi, 26-28 : Affirm- 
ing, John vi, 54, unless one eat His flesh and drink His blood 
he cannot have life in him. 

" 'I discovered no one in my Church who claimed to have 
that power of remitting sin, given by Christ to the Apostles 
and their successors. John xx, 23. 

« ' 'The injunction of James the Apostle, to call in the priests 
or elders of the Church and annoint the sick w T ith oil, is un- 
heeded. James v, 14. 

" 'The unity and indissolubility of marriage so clearly 
taught in i Cor. vii, and by the Saviour himself, Matt, xix, 
is openly denied ; and the validity of divorces granted by 
civil courts conceded. 

" 'These are only a few of the inconsistencies that I took 



ALETHAUEION. 559 

note of in my search for a more perfect way. But the great- 
est absurdity of all, is your presence here to try me for the 
crime of heresy. For, according to a fundamental principle 
of your Church, the Scriptures, privately interpreted is the 
true rule of faith. I have read them, and my honest convic- 
tion is that they teach the doctrine of seven sacraments. I 
ask you therefore, which is guilty of heresy? 

44 'I, who read the Scriptures, and interpret them accord- 
ing to what you admit to be a true principle ; or you, who 
deny that it is every man's right and privilege to read the 
Bible and make his personal understanding of it a rule of con- 
duct? I admit you have the right to exclude me from this 
house, which belongs to you as a chartered society. 

"'But that power you have from the State Legislature. 
There is no right inherent to your body to exclude any one. 
And every time you do so you destroy the very foundation 
on which your Church rests ; practically taking to yourselves 
the office of teachers and judges of the law, and assuming 
an infallibility which, in theory, you deny is possessed by 
you or by any other body of men in existence. 

44 4 But, as by the civil law, you have the power to exclude 
me from this house, I will save you all further trouble by a 
voluntary withdrawal. I will enter a Church whose practice 
does not contradict its teachings ; and if such a course be det- 
rimental, from a temporal point of view, I have consolation 
in knowing that it doth not profit a man if he gain the whole 
world and lose his own soul. 

4 4 4 If by such a course I am to forfeit the friendship of men, 
the friendship of God and the testimony of a good conscience 
will more than suffice for the loss. And as to my children, 
I leave them for a legacy the knowledge of the fact that, 
having seen the light, their father had the courage to follow 
the dictates of his conscience and approach it. If this be 
Catholic doctrine, you may write me down a Catholic." 



560 



ALETHAUKION. 



CHAPTEK CXXIX. 



THE INFALLIBILITY OF THE POPE. 

We now approach one of the most interesting and impor- 
tant questions connected with the history of the Church in 
modern times — the infallibility of the Pope. 

To the Infidel and sectarian the declaration of this truth, 
by the highest spiritual authority on earth, has been a sad 
reminder of their own waywardness and rebellion. Hence, 
they do not cease to decry it as an absurdity. 

But, their opposition is harmless, except to themselves ; 
and their knowledge and wisdom, weighed in the scales of 
truth, have, long ago, been found wanting. 

Nor is it alone to those outside the Church that the formal 
presentation of this dogma has been a stumbling block ; even 
some Catholics, who had been regarded as pillars of the 
Church and lights of the sanctuary, blinded by a vain con- 
ceit of their own intelligence, in an evil hour, struck against 
that stone, and tumbled headlong into the abyss of error. 

For this reason, we shall attempt to put the matter in as 
clear a way as possible. 

Now, one of the means necessary to gain a true conception 
of any question is to fix the force and signification of the 
principal words used in discussing it. 

What, therefore, is meant when we say that a being is in- 
fallible? We mean that he has some virtue or power, by the 
aid of which he makes no mistake. 

When this virtue is possessed to such a degree that the 
being cannot err in anything, then he may be said to pos- 
sess absolute infallibility. In this sense God alone is infallible. 

Hence, not even the angels can lay claim to it ; for inas- 
much as they are finite beings, there must be truths, be- 
yond their comprehension, concerning w T hich they would be 
liable to err, from deficiency of knowledge. 



ALETHAURION. 



561 



Absolute infallibility presupposes omniscience, primarily, 
and, by implication, all the other perfections of the Godhead. 

But infallibility is very often used, in a more limited sense, 
to express exemption from failure in some things. 

The historian of Alexander the Great, tells us that, 
whilst the hero was on his way to the conquest of Asia, there 
was brought to him one day a certain man, who had acquired 
such skill in pitching peas through an iron ring, placed sev- 
eral yards away, that he never missed his mark. 

Alexander, who was as munificient a patron of the arts 
of peace as he was brave in war, ordered his commissary to 
give the performer a large basket of peas, and ten minutes 
time, to convey it beyond the lines. 

Now, the individual in question was certainly infallible, 
for he never failed to put the pea through the ring ; and we 
may also presume that he did not fail to get outside the lines 
within the time specified. 

There is a man down in Posey country who is, likewise, 
infallible. For, if you stick half a dollar on top of a pole, 
seventy-five yards away, and tell him he can have it for the 
hitting ; he will not fail with his own trusty rifle, well loaded 
and primed, to carry off the prize. He is an infallible marks- 
man. 

We may now pass on a step, and consider a more august 
species of infallibility — that of the Pope. 

What do we mean when we say the Pope is infallible? — ■ 
That he is a good marksman? No : History affords us no 
data on which to base the conclusion that any one of the 
Popes was ever a dead shot — except, may be, when hurling 
bulls at the heads of despotic monarchs, or aiming anathe- 
mas at the anatomies of refractory monks. 

Do we mean by infallibility that the Pope is incapable of 
commiting sin ? No : Impeccability and infallibility are two 
things entirely different. And, out of the two hundred and 
fifty-six Popes we have had since Peter, half a dozen or 



562 



ALETHAUEION. 



more have never been regarded as prominent candidates for 
canonization. 

Do we mean, by infallibility, that the Pope knows all 
things, and that, when asked a question on any subject, his 
answer will always be in conformity with truth? No : Om- 
niscience belongs to God alone. 

The Pope does not pretend to be master of all the sciences ; 
nor has there ever yet lived a man that had an exhaustive 
knowledge of even one. 

Let us go a step farther. Do we mean by infallibility that 
the Pope cannot err in matters appertaining to faith and 
morals? 

Here it will be necessary to make a distinction. The Pope 
may be regarded in two ways — either as a private doctor, 
or as the head of the Church. If he speaks or writes as a 
theologian his conclusions have only a weight corresponding 
to the reasons he may produce in support of them. 

But when he speaks as head of the Church, on a question 
of faith and morals, from the chair , as the phrase is, we be- 
lieve that he is infallible. 

This point we may illustrate by an example. We have, at 
Washington, a Supreme Court, made up of one Chief Justice 
and eight associates. 

Its decisions, on all matters within its jurisdiction, are 
practically infallible ; i.e., there is no appeal. 

Now let us suppose that some questions of great impor- 
tance should arise, and be referred to the Supreme Court 
for adjustment. 

The discussion of the case at issue might take up several 
months. 

Suppose that, in the meantime, Chief Justice Waite should 
give his views, privately, to a few of his friends, on the merits 
of the case : Do you suppose that the country at large 
would attribute great importance to his opinions so deliv- 
ered? Not at all; for the private opinion of Mr. Waite, 
on a question under discussion, would not amount to more 



ALETHAUEION. 



563 



than that of many other prominent barristers in the 
country. 

The opinion of Mr. Waite is not the decision of Supreme 
Justice Waite — not by a good deal. 

But when Mr. Waite speaks from the bench, in his official 
capacity of Chief Justice, then his decision is indeed a 
weighty one for the vanquished party, because it is the fiat 
of the Supreme Court of the United States. 

So also, we may say in regard to the Pope. When speak- 
ing as a theologian, on questions of faith or morals; when 
reproving Emperors, Kings, and Princes for their wayward- 
ness ; when granting episcopal jurisdiction to some, or taking 
it away from others, we do not claim that he is infallible. 

His acts in such matters may be the best possible under 
the circumstances ; and then again they may not be. 

But when the Pope, ex Cathedra, gives a definition of 
faith, we hold that decision to be infallible. 

We have taken the office of the Chief Justice to illustrate 
this case, in preference to that of the President, because, 
strictly speaking, the Pope is infallible only in his character 
of judge. But to what degree he is influenced by this, in 
his capacity of chief legislator, or chief executive, we leave 
untouched for the present. 

As to whether the Pope himself can ever fall into heresy, 
is one of those idle questions discussed by theologians wha 
have little else to do. 

We believe, on the strength of the words addressed by 
Christ to Peter : "I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail 
not." Luke, xxii, 31. That no Pope will ever be, at heart, 
a heretic. 

But, whatever may be said of him as a man, we know 
that as Chief Judge in the Church he cannot err, and that 
is quite sufficient. For, that being certain, we are sure that 
what we believe, is what Christ taught. 

Before we enter on the proofs for the infallibility of the 
Pope, as defined in the Council of the Vatican, it may be 



564 



ALETHAUEION. 



proper to say a few words regarding the state of the ques- 
tion, before its definition. 

We know from the writings of the Fathers that from the 
earliest ages all controversies regarding points of faith were 
referred to Rome for final decision. 

If proofs be asked for this, they can be furnished in abun- 
dance. 4 'Peter has spoken, the question is ended," a 
phrase used so often by middle-age writers, is but a short 
way of expressing the belief of all true Catholics that the 
See of Rome will ever be found true to its lofty destiny. 

Nor was it until about the time of the Council of Con- 
stance, A. D. 1414, that distinctions between the Church 
and its head, the See and its occupant, etc., began to be 
talked about. 

This jealous spirit, kept alive and fostered by some 
bishops, finally crystallized into what was called Gallicanism. 

This was made up, principally, of two ingredients. The 
first consisted in denying that the Pope had a just right to 
change the disciplinary laws, framed during the first live or 
six centuries of Christianity, and in force in the Gallican 
Church. 

Those French bishops wanted the Gallican Church to 
remain in statu quo, even in matters of discipline, like an 
immense heap of barley piled up at one end of an elevator. 

But the Pope thought differently, and, in his judg- 
ment, a change of position, and a winnowing, once in a 
while, was necessary to prevent the grain from heating and 
sprouting. 

The other ingredient of Gallicanism consisted in denying 
the personal infallibility of the Pope. 

This denial was put forward, in a most emphatic manner, 
in 1682, by not a few of the French clergy, and sustained, 
principally, by the illustrious Bossuet. His tract, entitled: 
■"The defense of the declaration of the French Clergy," is 
oertainlv an able statement, and it comprises nearly every- 
thing that can be said against the infallibility of the Pope. 



ALETHAURIOX . 



565 



But, with all his learning and genius, he failed to prove 
his point; for no arguments hold good against prophecy. 

Bossuet and other Gallicans maintained that the authority 
of a general council was superior to that of the Pope, and 
that the bishops, in council, could pass judgment on his ex 
Cathedra decisions, and change them at pleasure. 

From these various considerations it will be seen that the 
formal declaration of the infallibility, by the Vatican Coun- 
cil, was not uncalled for. 

Gallicanism was slowly, but surely, sapping the faith of 
the French people, and the time had come for the com- 
mander-in-chief of all the faithful to call a halt. 

TVe may now bring forward some texts of Scripture that 
£0 to confirm what was defined by the Fathers of the Vati- 
can Council, respecting the matter under consideration. 

The first to which we shall invite attention, are the words 

of the Saviour addressed to Peter, as follows: 

"And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to 
have you, that he may sift you as wheat; but I have prayed for thee, 
that thy faith fail not ; and thou being onee converted, confirm thy breth- 
ren.*' — Luke xxii, 31-32. 

In the foregoing verses are contained three important 

items : 

First: The Apostles were to be tempted by Satax; and 
by the Apostles we may here understand the entire Church. 

Second: In order that Satax may not triumph, the 
Saviour prays for Peter that his faith fail not. 

Third: Peter, or Simon, as he was then called, is com- 
manded to confirm his brethren. 

Kow, if Peter, or his successors in the primacy, could 

fail — could teach false doctrine — what consequence would 

follow? That the Saviour's prayer was not heard by the 

Father, which would be absurd to even think of Him. 

u VTho in the days of His flesh, offering up prayers and supplications, 
with a strong cry and tears, to Him that was able to save Him from death, 
was heard for his reverence.*' — Heb. v, 7. 



566 



ALETHAUKION. 



Moreover, the Saviour commands Peter to confirm his 
brethren. Suppose for a moment that the Pope was capa- 
ble of teaching error, would he not, in that case, confirm the 
brethren in falsehood instead of truth, contrary to the 
Saviour's intention? 

The obligation, therefore, imposed upon Peter, of 
strengthening others, necessarily implies strength in himself 
to beo*in with. 

Another text of Scripture, which bears directly on the 

subject of infallibility, is that celebrated one, in which 

Christ, addressing Peter, says: 

"And I say to thee : Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build 
my Church; and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." — Matt, 
xvi. 18. 

Peter is the rock on which the Church of Christ is built. 
He is the foundation, solid enough to insure the building 
against the power of Satan and his imps. 

Now, if the Pope's decisions on points of faith could be 
improved by the rest of the bishops, either in council or out 
of it, it would no longer be the foundation giving strength 
to the building, but the building affording firmness to the 
foundation. 

The supposition is contrary to the tenor of the Saviour's 
words, and in contradiction to the nature of things. 

There is yet one more text of Scripture, in which the doc- 
trine of infallibility is taught, even more clearly than in 
those already given. 

In the xxi chapter of St. John's gospel we read of how 
the Saviour appeared, after his resurrection, to Peter and 
to some of the other Apostles, on the shore of the Sea of 
Galilee, and commanded the same Peter to feed the lambs 
and sheep of His flock, i. e., the faithful, both lay and 
clerical. 

The food here spoken of is evidently of a spiritual nature, 
in accordance with those words of the Saviour, addressed to 
the tempter in the desert : 



ALETHAUEION. 



567 



"Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out 
of the mouth of God." — Matt, iv, 4. 

Let us for a moment consider the case of a Pope teaching 
error ; what then ? 

It w r ould be Peter no longer feeding the flock with the 
manna of truth, but rather inebriating the lambs and sheep 
with the poison of error. 

And, furthermore, if the dogmatical definitions of the 
Pope could be essentially altered by the other bishops, as 
the Gallicans atone time maintained, then it would no longer 
be Peter feeding the flock, but rather the flock feeding 
Peter ; contrary to the spirit' and meaning of the Saviour's 
command. 

It was, precisely, on the occasion spoken of in the text, and 
just after Christ had said the words: "feed my lambs, 
feed my sheep," that Peter became the first Pope. 

Hence, the objection, sometimes put forward, that Peter 
denied Christ in the house of Pilate, has no ground to 
stand on ; for he had not as yet been made Pope. 

And, even though we should grant that Peter was Pope 
at the time, we can hardly suppose that he meant to give an 
ex Cathedra decision to that virago that threatened to tell 
on him. 

Imagine Chief Justice Waite arguing with a plumber, in 
regard to an exorbitant bill : Will any one, for a moment,, 
take what the Judge w T ould be liable to say, on such an occa- 
sion, as his decision, from the bench of the Supreme Court ? 

Another objection to the infallibility of the Pope, fre- 
quently brought forward by sectarian ministers, is founded 
on what St. Paul says of Cephas or Peter, in his epistle 
to the Galatians, chapter ii. 

"But when Cephas was come to Antioch," says he, "I withstood 
him to the face, because he was blameable." 

This objection is yet more easy of solution than that noticed 
already. 



I 



568 



ALETHAURION. 



That in which Peter was blameable was either a question 
of faith, or it was not. If not a matter appertaining to 
faith, it has nothing to do with either Peter's or the Pope's 
infallibility. 

If Peter was blameable to the extent of teaching false 
doctrine, then the text proves too much for those ministers 
who use it. 

It proves that Peter was not an inspired Apostle. 

Indeed, it will appear evident, to any one who takes the 
trouble to read the entire chapter, that the question at issue 
between those two great Apostles was not one of faith at all. 
Paul blames Cephas for his temporizing policy and dissimu- 
lation toward the converted Jew. 

It was a mere matter of policy. Cephas thought his own 
way the best, under the circumstances, and Paul thought it 
wasn't. 

The infallibility is also objected to on the ground that it 
places too much power in the hands of one man. 

To which we nnvy reply by asking a question : Does it 
throw too much power into the Supreme Court of the United 
States, to make its decision final? 

There must, in every organic community, be a ne plus 
ultra, beyond which controversies cannot go. 

The founders of this government gave the right to decide 
controversies, arising within its jurisdiction, to one chief 
and eight associate justices ; the founder of the Catholic 
Christian Church gave the same right to the Apostle Peter 
and to his successors. 

The other objections against the doctrine of papal infalli- 
bility are mainly historical. It has been asserted of some 
few Popes that they fell into heresy, or endorsed false doc- 
trines — asserted ; yes : But never proved. 



ALETHAURION. 



569 



CONCLUSION. 

During the progress of this work, we have occasionally 
made use of some tart expressions when speaking of Protest- 
antism or of heresy in general ; but we have nothing to 
retract. 

Ere we conclude, however, we have a few kind words to 
say of American Protestants : for they are not as bad as the 
religion they profess. 

To their credit, it must be told, that there are but few 
Catholic Churches or charitable institutions in our country, 
to which our Protestant fellow citizens have not liberally 
contributed. 

And, may we not hope, that it was of such generous souls 
the Saviour spoke when he said : 

u And, other sheep I have, that are not of this fold : them also 1 must 
bring; and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold and one 
Shepherd?" John x, 16. 

THE END. 

Laus Deo, et Beatoe Marioe Virgini. 



I, 



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